# De novo designed protein binders

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/de-novo-protein-design/  
OnCo record `de-novo-protein-design` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Designing a protein from scratch on a computer to grip a chosen target, instead of finding one in an animal or a library.

## Summary

Deep-learning structure prediction and generative design now produce small, stable binders against chosen epitopes in weeks, including minibinders for viral and cancer targets. In oncology the first clinical examples are AI-designed antibodies rather than fully de novo scaffolds; Generate Biomedicines' MMAE-neutralising antibody entered the clinic in 2026. Designed miniproteins are attractive as ADC and radioligand targeting heads because they penetrate tissue faster than antibodies.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: phase-1
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Tags: frontier; promising
- Principle: Diffusion and language models generate backbone geometries complementary to a target epitope; sequences are designed, expressed and screened, compressing discovery from years to weeks.
- Strengths: Fast, cheap discovery cycles; Small size penetrates tumours and clears quickly, useful for imaging and radioligands; The epitope can be chosen deliberately
- Limitations: Immunogenicity of non-natural sequences is uncharacterised in patients; Short half-life needs engineering; Clinical validation is only starting

## Sources

- ClinicalTrials.gov: AI-designed antibody cancer: https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?term=AI-designed%20antibody%20cancer

## Connected records

- fronts: [Drug Discovery Platforms](https://onco.cc/fronts/drug-discovery/), [Targeted Therapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/targeted-therapy/)
- technologies: [ADC payload neutralisers](https://onco.cc/technologies/adc-payload-neutralizer/), [AI-driven drug & target discovery](https://onco.cc/technologies/ai-drug-design/), [Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)](https://onco.cc/technologies/adc/), [Peptide-drug & small-molecule-drug conjugates](https://onco.cc/technologies/peptide-drug-conjugate/), [Radioligand therapy (beta emitters)](https://onco.cc/technologies/radioligand-therapy/)
- companies: [Cradle](https://onco.cc/companies/cradle-bio/), [Generate:Biomedicines](https://onco.cc/companies/generate-biomedicines/), [Insilico Medicine](https://onco.cc/companies/insilico-medicine/), [Isomorphic Labs](https://onco.cc/companies/isomorphic-labs/), [Latent Labs](https://onco.cc/companies/latent-labs/), [Profluent](https://onco.cc/companies/profluent-bio/)
- roadmaps: [Drug discovery roadmap: screening in mice → maps of dependency → designing in silico](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/drug-discovery-roadmap/), [Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/frontier-2035/), [Targeted therapy roadmap: imatinib → designed for resistance → the undruggable drivers fall](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/targeted-therapy-roadmap/)
- key papers: [AlphaFold 2: predicting protein structures to near-experimental accuracy](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-alphafold2-jumper-nature-2021/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/de-novo-protein-design.json