Claude-designed proteins bind four scorpion toxins: 318,484 candidates yield 17 hits
jiqizhixin · x · 2026-10-31
An Anthropic-led team with Citrini Research used an internal research model to coordinate a protein-design campaign. Claude-generated proteins bound four scorpion toxins in lab assays — an early research result, not demonstrated toxin neutralization.
Workflow
- Started from one initial prompt plus four follow-ups; Claude planned and ran the design campaign
- Generated 318,484 candidate designs; screening through ESMFold2-Fast, ESMFold2, and Protenix v2 narrowed 553,052 pairs to 28,451 ranked pairs, selecting 180 for testing (researchers added 31 more with Claude's help)
- Adaptyv Bio and Twist Bioscience tested all 211 designs; 17 met binding criteria
Key numbers
- Computational phase ran 64 hours using roughly 10,000 GPU hours (lab validation time excluded)
- The strongest Cn2 binder showed single-digit nanomolar affinity
Therapeutic claims remain unproven, but the campaign shows AI coordinating a full design-and-screen experimental loop.
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