The relationship between a multi-specific antibody's design and its function is often non-intuitive. LabGenius's ML platform excels by exploring this complex "fitness landscape" without human bias, identifying high-performing molecules that a rational designer would deem too unconventional or "crazy."

The company focuses on disease-specific 3D protein conformations, which exposes new binding sites (epitopes) not present on the same protein in healthy cells. This allows for highly selective drugs that avoid the toxicity common with targets defined by genetic sequence alone.

The founding premise of Enara Bio was a forward-looking belief. As the T-cell engager field matured, they predicted a critical shortage of viable targets would emerge. By creating a platform to discover novel "dark antigens" from the non-coding genome, they positioned themselves to solve a problem before it became mainstream.

T-cell receptor (TCR) therapies offer a significant advantage over monoclonal antibodies by targeting intracellular proteins. They recognize peptides presented on the cell surface, effectively unlocking 90% of the proteome and requiring far fewer target molecules (5-10 copies vs. 1000+) to kill a cancer cell.

To overcome on-target, off-tumor toxicity, LabGenius designs antibodies that act like biological computers. These molecules "sample" the density of target receptors on a cell's surface and are engineered to activate and kill only when a specific threshold is met, distinguishing high-expression cancer cells from low-expression healthy cells.

An innovative strategy for solid tumors involves using bispecific T-cell engagers to target the tumor stroma—the protective fibrotic tissue surrounding the tumor. This novel approach aims to first eliminate this physical barrier, making the cancer cells themselves more vulnerable to subsequent immune attack.

Pathways like integrins have long been of interest but lacked effective therapeutic approaches. The advent of new technologies, such as antibody-drug conjugates and checkpoint inhibitors, has created opportunities to re-explore these older targets with potent, modern drugs, breathing new life into decades-old research.

Instead of focusing solely on T-cells, Create's platform first targets myeloid cells, which constitute up to 60% of some solid tumors. Programming these cells transforms the tumor microenvironment, enabling a 5-10x influx of CD8 T-cells. This overcomes a key barrier for T-cell therapies in solid tumors.

Frustration with traditional antibody discovery, which captures only 1% of a sample's B-cell diversity, led to Memo's microfluidics platform. CEO Erik van den Berg states their technology retains over 80% of the B-cell information, enabling the discovery of rare, super-potent human antibodies that would otherwise be lost.