Solution / Binder & nanobody design
Binders for the targets where discovery has stalled.
Crane Bioworks designs nanobodies (VHHs), miniproteins, scFvs, antibodies and fusion proteins, de novo or starting from a binder you already have. You bring the target and the binding site that matters; each round returns a ranked candidate set, cross-checked across independent structure models, with the rationale and a test plan your lab can run.
What we design
De novo binders
Nanobodies and miniproteins against targets where phage display or immunization has stalled, including protein–protein interfaces.
Next-round variants
Refined designs for a binder you already have, using your binding data from the last round.
Antibody formats
scFvs, mAbs and bispecifics, with developability checked alongside binding.
Fusion proteins
Multi-domain constructs, with linker and interface hypotheses tested before you build.
How a campaign runs
Step 1
Brief
Target sequence, the binding site that matters, the format and constraints, and the lab decision the round should inform.
Step 2
Design and cross-check
Generative models propose candidates, independent structure predictors check them, and protein engineers review where the models agree and diverge.
Step 3
Handoff
A ranked set of typically 10–50 candidates, the design rationale, explicit uncertainty, a validation plan, and a next-round plan for when your assay data comes back.
The first engagement is a feasibility pilot: one target, fixed scope, fixed price, typically within 1–3 weeks. Designs, sequences and results remain your work product.
What we hear from teams
If you speed it up, but then you end up still having to run it three times, then you actually slowed it down.
You need to have individual hypotheses for every failed design and every successful design. That's where standard pipelines break down.
Evidence from our studies
- De Novo c-Myc Binders That Occlude the Myc·Max Interface
2026-05-28
- De Novo Nanobody Design for a Bispecific BBB Shuttle: 32 Variants to Synthesis
2026-04-01
- Designing EGFR Binders for Two Species and Two pH Conditions
2026-10-06
- Designing a TNF-alpha Binder That Lets Go in the Acid
2026-10-13
Each study distinguishes computational evidence from wet-lab validation so you can judge the work on its actual footing.