RESEARCH
Vitrification proteins for ambient-temperature biologics.
Our first program computationally designs synthetic analogs of natural preservation proteins to eliminate pharmaceutical cold chain dependency.
The Problem
The global pharmaceutical cold chain — the temperature-controlled infrastructure required to store and transport biological therapeutics — represents a $42 billion annual market. An estimated $35 billion in product is lost each year to temperature excursions. Monoclonal antibodies, mRNA vaccines, cell and gene therapies, and blood products all require continuous refrigeration from production to administration. Current solutions manage the cold chain. They do not eliminate it.
The Biology
Certain organisms survive complete desiccation through a class of intrinsically disordered proteins. When water is removed, these proteins undergo a reversible phase transition: from soluble disordered state, to gel, to vitrified glass. This glass matrix physically encases and protects biological cargo during desiccation. Upon rehydration, the proteins return to solution and release their payload intact.
The function arises not from a stable three-dimensional structure but from ensemble-level biophysical behavior — a property that can, in principle, be engineered into novel synthetic proteins.
The Approach
We computationally design synthetic analogs of these proteins — novel sequences with less than 50% identity to any natural protein, engineered to preserve the biophysical properties that drive vitrification while optimizing for manufacturability, stability, and regulatory compatibility.
The design pipeline operates in four stages:
Stage 1 — Sequence Generation
Candidates are generated using parameterized design rules derived from the biophysics of natural preservation proteins, exploring multiple architectural templates.
Stage 2 — Biophysical Scoring
Each sequence is scored against a multi-criteria biophysical metric benchmarked to the best-characterized natural vitrification protein.
Stage 3 — Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Top candidates undergo coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation to characterize ensemble-level behavior.
Stage 4 — Independent Scoring
Candidates are ranked by independent scoring frameworks measuring glass-forming behavior, ensuring that top candidates are not artifacts of a single scoring bias.
Pipeline Status
5+
U.S. provisional patents filed
5,000+
sequences designed and scored
Multi-domain
platform applications
Q2 2026
experimental validation target
Gene synthesis of lead candidates has been ordered, with recombinant expression and biophysical characterization to follow. More than five U.S. provisional patent applications have been filed covering the computational design methodology, the discovery engine, and novel synthetic protein compositions. The key technical milestone — a differential scanning calorimetry measurement demonstrating a high glass transition temperature — is targeted for Q2 2026.
Intellectual Property
Extension of the Computational Design Platform to Agricultural Stress-Tolerance Cargoes
Timothy J. O’Brien — Provisional Patent Application
Application of the computational design platform to agricultural protein cargoes for crop stress-tolerance.
U.S. Provisional Patent Application filed May 2026. Full specification not publicly available.
Methods and Systems for Safety-Screened, Self-Improving Computational Design of Synthetic Proteins
Timothy J. O’Brien — Provisional Patent Application
An integrated method establishing safety screening and continual self-improvement as core phases of the computational design platform.
U.S. Provisional Patent Application filed May 2026. Full specification not publicly available.
Synthetic Intrinsically Disordered Protein Compositions for Ambient-Temperature Stabilization — Extended Portfolio
Timothy J. O’Brien — Provisional Patent Application
Composition-of-matter coverage broadening the portfolio with additional novel synthetic vitrification protein sequences.
U.S. Provisional Patent Application filed March 2026. Full specification not publicly available.
Synthetic Intrinsically Disordered Protein Compositions for Ambient-Temperature Stabilization of Biological Molecules
Timothy J. O’Brien — Provisional Patent Application
Novel synthetic protein compositions engineered through computational design and molecular dynamics simulation to form protective vitrified glasses at ambient temperature.
U.S. Provisional Patent Application filed March 2026. Full specification not publicly available.
Automated Biomolecular Discovery Engine with Continual Learning
Timothy J. O’Brien — Provisional Patent Application
An autonomous discovery system that iteratively generates, simulates, scores, and refines biomolecular candidates through a feedback loop.
U.S. Provisional Patent Application filed March 2026. Full specification not publicly available.
Computational Methods for Designing Protein-Based Vitrification Excipients
Timothy J. O’Brien — Provisional Patent Application
A computational pipeline for designing novel synthetic proteins that stabilize biological therapeutics at ambient temperature, potentially eliminating cold chain dependency for a broad class of drugs and vaccines.
U.S. Provisional Patent Application filed March 2026. Full specification not publicly available.
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