Harbour BioMed announced the launch of its first fully human Generative AI HCAb (Heavy Chain-Only Antibody) Model at the company's Global R&D Day 2025 event in Shanghai on October 28, 2025. The breakthrough platform, powered by the Hu-mAtrIx™ AI system and built upon the Harbour Mice® platform, establishes a closed-loop process integrating AI design, intelligent screening, and wet-lab validation to transform antibody discovery.
Revolutionary AI-Driven Antibody Discovery Platform
The newly released AI HCAb Model creates a closed-loop workflow that integrates AI-driven sequence generation, design and screening, and wet-lab validation. This end-to-end process transforms antibody discovery from blind screening to AI-driven intelligent selection, dramatically improving efficiency and accuracy in antibody discovery.
Heavy chain-only antibodies (HCAbs) are known for their simple structure and low molecular weight, holding strong potential for advanced applications like bispecific/multi-specific antibodies, ADCs, CAR-T, and mRNA therapies. However, conventional human VH domains struggle to maintain stability without VL pairing, a challenge that Harbour BioMed's platform addresses through its innovative approach.
The company's Harbour Mice® platform serves as the world's first transgenic mouse platform that produces fully human functional HCAb, laying the foundation for overcoming stability challenges. The AI design accurately identifies functional, autonomous HCAbs from vast datasets, despite the high structural and sequential similarity between HCAb VH sequences and those of conventional (H2L2) antibodies.
Advanced AI Model Training and Screening Process
Harbour BioMed's HCAb generation model is trained on 9 million NGS-derived HCAb sequences and extensive public data. Using a fine-tuned protein large language model, it enables de novo generation of high-potential HCAb sequences, with secondary optimization for target specificity.
The AI-generated sequences undergo a comprehensive multi-stage intelligent screening process that includes an AI Classification Model to filter non-HCAb sequences and a Multimodal AI Developability Prediction Model achieving state-of-the-art (SOTA) performance to assess key developability parameters such as stability, solubility, and aggregation tendency. Only candidates that pass rigorous screening proceed to synthesis and wet-lab validation.
Exceptional Performance Metrics
The AI HCAb Model demonstrated remarkable results with a tenfold increase in candidate generation and significantly improved success rates. Among 107 de novo generated binder sequences produced by the AI HCAb model, 78.5% successfully hit the target, while 20 molecules were further validated in wet-lab assays, demonstrating high activity, purity, yield, and specificity.
The AI-designed binders showed outstanding developability profiles, with an average yield exceeding 700 mg/L. Multiple candidate sequences demonstrated nanomolar-level binding affinity while maintaining binding activity against relevant targets in both humans and cynomolgus monkeys.
Self-Evolving Innovation Platform
Harbour BioMed's AI platform operates as a self-evolving innovation flywheel driven by continuous learning and feedback through a cycle of AI design, automated validation, and AI re-learning. This iterative process enables generative AI to create diverse new molecules, while high-throughput automation rapidly characterizes and feeds back experimental data to continuously enhance model intelligence and R&D efficiency.
The AI HCAb Model is expected to accelerate applications of fully human HCAbs across next-generation therapeutic areas including multi-specific antibodies, XDCs, in vivo CAR-T, and inhaled or oral large-molecule drugs, helping redefine the landscape of biologics discovery.
Global AI + Pharmaceutical Ecosystem Alliance
During the same event, Harbour BioMed announced the official establishment of the Global AI + Pharmaceutical Ecosystem Alliance, bringing together leading experts, technology partners, and investors to reshape the entire drug discovery pipeline through AI innovation. The alliance has gained strong support from government bodies, industry associations, and investors including Fortera Capital, Insilico Medicine, Molecular Mind, Evinova, INNOVEL, Fenglin Group, Taimei Technology, EClinCloud, Deep Intelligent Pharma, and Harbour BioMed.
"The Global AI + Pharmaceutical Ecosystem Alliance aims to create an open, collaborative, and win–win ecosystem. Through shared value and collective innovation, we seek to address the toughest challenges in drug discovery and bring transformative therapies to patients faster and more effectively," said Dr. Jingsong Wang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Harbour BioMed.
Comprehensive Technology Platform
Harbour BioMed's proprietary antibody technology platform, Harbour Mice®, generates fully human monoclonal antibodies in both the conventional two heavy and two light chain (H2L2) format and the heavy chain-only (HCAb) format. Building upon HCAb antibodies, the HCAb-based immune cell engagers (HBICE®) bispecific antibody technology enables tumor-killing effects that traditional combination therapies cannot achieve.
Additionally, the HCAb-based bispecific immune cell antagonist (HBICA™) technology empowers the development of innovative biologics for immunological and inflammatory diseases. By integrating Harbour Mice®, HBICE®, and HBICA™ with a single B-cell cloning platform, Harbour BioMed has built a highly efficient and distinctive antibody discovery engine for developing next-generation therapeutic antibodies.
