Citrini Research Uses Claude AI to Design New Proteins

The firm successfully generated 211 protein designs after tasking Anthropic's Claude AI with an extensive scientific prompt.

Updated on Oct. 20, 2026 in Biotech

Citrini Research Uses Claude AI to Design New Proteins

Live Poll

Do you trust artificial intelligence to accurately perform complex scientific research like drug discovery?

Citrini Research utilized an internal version of Anthropic's Claude AI to develop 211 protein designs, successfully binding 17 of them to scorpion toxins. The project relied on more than 300 sub-agents to process a 35-page prompt.

Why it matters

The firm highlights life sciences as a promising sector at cyclical lows, suggesting that infrastructure providers for AI-driven biology will see increased demand. This project underscores the growing utility of large language models in specialized protein discovery workflows.

Citrini Research managed the project with a $200,000 budget and used an AI system that spawned over 300 sub-agents to fulfill a 35-page prompt. Two specific designs, Cn2-B1 and Cn2-B2, achieved binding affinities in the low-nanomolar range.

The players

Citrini Research

An investment and research firm that identifies life sciences as a potential growth area after years of poor returns.

Anthropic

An artificial intelligence research company that produces the Claude large language model family.

Novo Nordisk

A global healthcare company that recently entered a formal drug discovery collaboration with Anthropic.

Twist Bioscience

A company specializing in synthetic DNA and protein manufacturing that collaborated on the project.

Adaptyv Bio

A bio-automation company that assisted in the synthesis and testing phase of the protein design project.

The details

The design process required prompting at Anthropic offices to successfully navigate a biosecurity classifier. Citrini Research subsequently partnered with Twist Bioscience and Adaptyv Bio to synthesize and test the computational designs.

In early June, the firm began evaluating non-AI infrastructure sectors.
Anthropic released Claude Science in July.
In August, Citrini provided a 35-page prompt to Claude.
Novo Nordisk and Anthropic announced a drug discovery collaboration in September.
The project report was published this past Tuesday.

The Tech Race

This project follows the pattern set by the Novo Nordisk and Anthropic drug discovery collaboration by demonstrating the practical application of language models in biological research. It illustrates a broader shift toward integrating AI virtual biologists into core pharmaceutical infrastructure.

While this project targets industrial research, the success of AI-driven protein synthesis could lead to faster development timelines for new medications. Investors may also find shifts in demand for companies that provide the digital and physical infrastructure for these AI models.

The takeaway

AI models are increasingly capable of performing complex protein design tasks previously reserved for specialized hardware and software. This development marks a shift in how biological R&D resources are allocated across the life sciences industry.