Nuclera and leadXpro forge partnership to accelerate membrane protein drug discovery
Nuclera, the Cambridge-based biotechnology company, and leadXpro, a specialist in structure-based drug discovery headquartered in Villigen, Switzerland, have announced a scientific partnership aimed at improving access to high-quality membrane protein constructs for drug discovery programmes.
Membrane proteins represent some of the most clinically significant yet technically demanding drug targets in modern pharmacology. Their notoriously difficult expression and purification characteristics have long constrained structural biology and biophysical studies, even where the underlying biology is well characterised. The partnership between Nuclera and leadXpro seeks to address this bottleneck through an integrated, AI-guided workflow.
leadXpro scientists with the eProtein Discovery System
Combining cell-free synthesis with AI/ML-driven construct design
At the centre of the collaboration is the integration of Nuclera’s eProtein Discovery System — which employs Cell-Free Protein Synthesis for rapid multiplex membrane protein screening — with leadXpro’s artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) capabilities in construct design and biophysical characterisation. Together, the two platforms will form an iterative, end-to-end workflow linking in silico construct design with experimental screening.
Membrane protein constructs identified through Nuclera’s multiplex screening will progress to detailed biophysical characterisation and high-resolution cryo-EM structure determination under leadXpro’s direction. Data generated from these studies will feed back into AI/ML models to refine construct design, improve protein yields, and increase overall success rates — a closed-loop system designed to shorten the path from sequence to structural insight.
Embedding predictive design into drug discovery platforms
The partnership is also expected to shape the future development of both organisations’ platforms. Nuclera intends to integrate AI/ML predictive design capabilities directly into the eProtein Discovery System, whilst leadXpro will strengthen its capacity to rapidly produce and characterise difficult membrane protein targets.
Dr Michael Chen, CEO and co-founder of Nuclera, said: “By partnering with leadXpro, we can pair AI/ML-driven construct design with our rapid multiplex membrane protein screening to provide a truly ‘lab-in-loop’ workflow. This collaboration is an important step towards embedding AI/ML into Nuclera’s system so that researchers can go from sequence to high-value structural and functional insights in a fraction of the time currently required.” Dr Michael Hennig, CEO of leadXpro, commented: “Nuclera’s eProtein Discovery platform provides a robust, rapid, and reproducible approach to exploring construct space. Combined with our established AI/ML and structural biology expertise, this integration allows us to support better design decisions earlier and accelerate the progression of promising drug candidates.”
For more information, visit: https://www.nuclera.com/system
Michael Chen, CEO and co-founder, Nuclera
Michael Chen, CEO and co-founder, Nuclera
