A-Alpha Bio, a synthetic biology and machine learning company that measures and engineers protein-protein interactions, today announced a collaboration with Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead) that aims to advance the design of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) therapies. A-Alpha Bio will leverage its platforms to characterize binding affinities between potential therapeutic proteins and various viral protein variants that Gilead may incorporate into potential future long-acting combination HIV therapy options.
Under the collaboration, A-Alpha will apply its synthetic biology platform, AlphaSeq, to assess millions of interactions between potential therapeutic moieties and viral protein variants. The data generated by AlphaSeq will inform their machine learning (ML) platform, AlphaBind, to predict proteins that offer enhanced binding breadth and resistance to viral escape. As part of the collaboration, A-Alpha Bio will receive upfront and near-term success payments and will be eligible for development milestones and royalties if Gilead exercises its option to license novel proteins identified by A-Alpha.
