Science
Programming therapeutic function through living biology
Why designing new medicines for function changes everything
Designing from function rather than structure opens the door to medicines that were previously out of reach.
95% of today’s therapeutic antibodies work by blocking biology, leaving an enormous opportunity for biologics that can do more. Functional antibodies can activate pathways instead of blocking them, balance multiple signaling routes, or engage several receptors at once with a single molecule. This allows us to modulate biological systems with precision, an approach traditional antibody design cannot solve.
By grounding antibody design in living biology, Metaphore moves drug discovery beyond static views of molecules and toward a deeper understanding of how life operates. This unlocks a wider therapeutic landscape, enabling new mechanisms, new targets, and new treatment possibilities for millions of patients.
A function-first antibody design platform built on native protein behavior
Metaphore’s MIMIC™ platform combines high throughput live cell experimentation with machine learning to design biologics that go beyond blocking.
Instead of relying on static protein structures, we capture molecular activity in its native environment to understand what drives biological function. To design medicines that do more, we need data that reflects biology as it actually behaves.
Our platform works through three tightly connected stages: MAP, MIMIC, and DESIGN. Each cycle trains the platform further, allowing us to generate optimized molecules in weeks instead of years while expanding what can be achieved therapeutically.
MAP
We experimentally measure protein behavior inside living cells at massive scale, generating billions of interaction points. These functional datasets reveal how proteins move, engage, and signal inside their true biological context. The result is a dynamic map of function that cannot be seen through static structural methods.
MIMIC
Machine learning models interpret these maps to identify the features that create specific biological outcomes. This analysis isolates what drives actions such as agonism, signaling bias, selectivity, or multi receptor engagement. These features form a digital blueprint of function, which becomes our basis for drug design.
DESIGN
Using this blueprint, we create new antibodies with precisely defined behaviors. We tune potency, durability, specificity, and multi target activity to match the therapeutic profile we need for each specific disease.
How the MIMIC platform works
Capture functional data from living systems through large scale, live-cell measurement.
Map the activity landscape to reveal how proteins behave and which features drive functional outcomes.
Use these functional insights to design new antibody candidates with intended biological actions.
Refine and optimize properties through machine learning to achieve precise control of therapeutic function.
Applications
Unlock intractable targets
High resolution functional data allows us to address targets that have been inaccessible to structure based methods.
Design for function
We can program functional properties into antibodies such as agonism, specificity, signaling bias, and multi receptor activity from the outset.
Define specificity
Functional mapping enables precise tuning to minimize off target effects and drive the desired biological response.
Choose the ideal modality
Our blueprints can be applied across therapeutic formats to match the needs of each disease.