The collaboration between Think Bioscience and CrystalsFirst has yielded significant breakthroughs in addressing previously "undruggable" targets, prompting both companies to expand their partnership. The Boulder, Colorado-based Think Bioscience, which leverages synthetic biology for small molecule discovery, will continue working with Hamburg-based CrystalsFirst to apply advanced structural biology techniques to challenging drug targets.
The initial collaboration successfully identified novel mechanisms of action for several difficult targets in Think Bioscience's pipeline, providing crucial insights that conventional drug discovery methods had failed to deliver.
"CrystalsFirst's MAGNET platform exceeded our expectations by rapidly delivering high-resolution structural data, including novel mechanistic insights, to guide medicinal chemistry," said Jerome Fox, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Think Bioscience. "We look forward to expanding our partnership with CrystalsFirst to leverage their platform across even more targets."
Technological Synergy Driving Innovation
At the heart of the partnership is CrystalsFirst's MAGNET platform, which integrates SmartSoak® technology with FragAI, their proprietary artificial intelligence system. This combination has enabled rapid generation of abundant structural data for challenging targets, accelerating the progression from target identification to lead compound development.
The platform's ability to reveal previously unknown binding mechanisms has opened new avenues for therapeutic intervention. These structural insights have proven particularly valuable for Think Bioscience's approach, which focuses on programming microbes to discover novel functional binding pockets.
"By combining Think's breakthrough biology with our MAGNET platform, we rapidly revealed tractable binding sites and novel chemistry for challenging targets," explained Serghei Glinca, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of CrystalsFirst. "We are excited to expand our collaboration and continue fueling Think's innovative pipeline with cutting-edge technology in structural biology and AI."
Expanding the Scope of Collaboration
Building on their early success, the expanded partnership will include additional pipeline programs and broader implementation of the MAGNET platform. The collaboration aims to integrate CrystalsFirst's structural biology capabilities earlier in the discovery process to accelerate first-in-class drug programs addressing high unmet medical needs.
The partnership represents a significant advancement in the field of structure-based drug discovery, particularly for targets that have historically resisted conventional approaches. By combining Think Bioscience's synthetic biology platform with CrystalsFirst's structural biology expertise, the companies are developing therapeutic strategies that were previously impossible.
Complementary Expertise
Think Bioscience's approach combines applied microbiology, enzymology, and data science to program microbes that can discover novel functional binding pockets. This methodology has proven effective in unveiling new mechanisms of biomolecular engagement for first-in-class programs targeting diseases with high unmet needs.
CrystalsFirst, founded in 2018, has developed its MAGNET platform as a breakthrough technology that accelerates the path to protein-ligand co-structures. The company has successfully enabled over 40 drug targets, empowering pharmaceutical and biotech partners to design novel modulators for previously intractable proteins.
The expanded collaboration underscores both companies' commitment to pushing the boundaries of drug discovery for challenging targets, potentially opening new therapeutic avenues for patients with limited treatment options.
