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Intellicule Wins $217,941 NIH SBIR Phase I Grant for AI Cryo-EM Modeling Tools

The project targets the error‑prone modeling region above 3 Å resolution to speed structure‑guided drug discovery.

Overview

  • The Purdue University–affiliated startup will develop deep‑learning software to interpret low‑resolution cryo‑EM data for biomolecular structure modeling.
  • Daisuke Kihara leads Intellicule, with co‑founders Charles Christoffer and Genki Terashi, and says the tools aim to advance precision‑medicine workflows.
  • The software uses state‑of‑the‑art image processing to detect atoms in cryo‑EM maps where conventional methods struggle.
  • Intellicule launched in summer 2024 under the name Molecular Intelligence, and received an exclusive commercialization license from Purdue Innovates in January 2025.
  • The effort is part of Purdue’s One Health initiative, positioning the technology for translational impact across drug discovery applications.