Laboratory will enable visualization of biological molecules in unprecedented detail and at scale, providing the company with a competitive advantage in the de novo therapeutic protein field
SOMERVILLE, Mass. June 26 – Generate:Biomedicines today announced the unveiling of its cryogenic electron microscopy (CryoEM) laboratory in Andover, Massachusetts. Among the largest privately-owned CryoEM laboratories in the United States, this 70,000 sq ft site will enable scientists to visualize the molecular structure of proteins that are too small to be seen with traditional microscopes. As a result, the company will better understand the precise manner in which therapeutics interact with their intended targets, accelerating drug discovery processes and providing a competitive advantage in the de novo therapeutic protein field.
With the unveiling of this new CryoEM laboratory, the company will add a powerful new structural determination tool to the repertoire of its proprietary in-house machine learning models. By deploying CryoEM to explore novel proteins of interest, the new laboratory will yield terabytes of valuable data each day to add to the rapidly growing body of information available to The Generate Platform. And because The Generate Platform is learning from each new protein it produces and validates, the data generated by the CryoEM laboratory will ultimately contribute to the continuous improvement of the platform and its ability to create novel therapeutics.
“Our CryoEM laboratory in Andover will further strengthen our ability to produce large-scale structural data that will give The Generate Platform a strongly differentiated competitive advantage,” says Gevorg Grigoryan, PhD, co-founder and chief technology officer of Generate:Biomedicines. “By harnessing the power of CryoEM technology, we aim to open up new frontiers in our understanding of molecules, viruses, and other cellular components, helping us to tackle more complex biological questions and explore additional applications across modalities and therapeutic areas.”
“With the unveiling of our state-of-the-art CryoEM facility, we are excited to expand our footprint and are looking forward to leveraging these cutting-edge tools to execute on several current research programs,” said Adam Root, head of protein sciences at Generate:Biomedicines. “Equipped with four industry-leading microscopes, including foundational infrastructure, full end-to-end wet lab and ML-enabled data processing capabilities, this new laboratory demonstrates our growing maturity as a company and represents a critical milestone in our efforts to lead in the field of generative biology.”
Generate:Biomedicines’ Andover laboratory features new electron microscopes from Thermo Fisher Scientific and JEOL – two world leaders in this technology. The facility is located at 4 Corporate Drive, Andover, Massachusetts.
About CryoEM
Cryogenic electron microscopy (CryoEM) is a structural biology technique that allows the visualization of three-dimensional atomic structures of macromolecules. CryoEM involves freezing samples in vitreous (“glass-like”) ice and imaging them using an electron microscope – making it possible for scientists to capture detailed images and use increasingly powerful 3D image reconstruction to build atomic models of biological molecules. CryoEM has evolved into an indispensable tool well-suited for elucidating the structures and mechanisms of biological macromolecules at the scale needed for The Generate Platform, providing invaluable insights for understanding biological processes.
About Generate:Biomedicines
Generate:Biomedicines is the first drug generation company pioneering a machine learning-powered generative biology platform with the ability to create new drugs on demand across a wide range of biologic modalities. The Generate Platform – which is a continuous loop to generate, build, measure, and learn – can drastically increase the speed at which targets and therapeutics are identified and validated. This closed loop will improve the specificity of target engagement by generated proteins and reduce the time and cost of identifying and developing clinical candidates. Generate:Biomedicines was founded by Flagship Pioneering after two years of foundational research in its Labs unit and launched in 2020. Learn more about Generate:Biomedicines by visiting https://generatebiomedicines.com or following the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Generate Media Contact
Megan McLaughlin