Overview
- The study, published in Nature, reports that researchers used AI to design compact miniproteins under 100 amino acids that can act as agonists or antagonists for multiple G protein‑coupled receptors (GPCRs).
- The team generated functional lead molecules against 11 different GPCRs and validated the accuracy of five designs with cryo‑EM structures that closely matched the computational models.
- A new 'receptor diversion' screen tests designed proteins directly against full‑length GPCRs in living human cells and can evaluate up to about 100,000 designs while preserving the receptors’ membrane context.
- In preclinical tests one designed antagonist matched an approved drug’s efficacy with fewer side effects and another design achieved longer dosing potential after adding a common protein tag, supporting the modality’s therapeutic promise.
- Skape Bio, the 2025 spinout commercializing the platform, is expanding its team and pursuing internal programs and pharma partnerships to apply the approach to metabolic, inflammatory, and neurologic targets while clinical testing remains the next step.