Anthropic experimented with how Claude can help accelerate drug discovery by asking an internal research model to design minibinders, small proteins that attach tightly to a target, against scorpion neurotoxins. The project was developed with the financial investment research firm Citrini Research, which asked whether Claude could enable motivated nonexperts to tackle a genuine problem in human health.
Scorpions sting 1.2 million people or more every year, causing more than 3,250 deaths, mostly among children in parts of the world with limited access to medical care. New treatments are expensive to make and unlikely to earn back development costs, so scorpion envenomation has been described as a neglected tropical disease.
Over 64 hours, the research model worked mainly autonomously, guided by four follow-ups. It generated 318,484 protein designs and selected 180 for testing, to which the team added 31 more. Partners Adaptyv Bio and Twist Bioscience lab-tested all 211 designs, and 17 met the criteria for a binder. Each of the 17 binds to one of four scorpion neurotoxins known to be dangerous to humans.
The researchers have not confirmed whether these binders neutralize venom in a cellular environment, so they do not claim to have produced an antivenom. Two outside experts, Susana Vázquez Torres and Timothy P. Jenkins, called the work a promising first step. The company is releasing all 211 designs and their data as a resource for the field.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing