Bind Research launched to transform disordered proteins into effective drug targets

Bind Research launched to transform disordered proteins into effective drug targets

• UK’s first not-for-profit Focused Research Organisation supported by Department for Science, Research and Innovation’s Research Ventures Catalyst programme and matched industry, philanthropic & charitable support raising a total of £25.8 million

• Goal to turn disordered proteins into viable drug targets via AI-enhanced experimental and computational tools & comprehensive datasets of disordered protein-drug interactions

London, UK – 11 February 2025 – Bind Research was today launched as the UK’s first not-for-profit Focused Research Organisation (FRO), committed to transforming drug discovery by targeting disordered proteins – an approach that promises new therapeutic avenues for diseases once considered untreatable.

Bind Research has been established with £12.9 million of support from the UK Government’s Research Ventures Catalyst programme, matched by support from industry, philanthropic, and charitable partners. Bind is grateful for visionary support from the UK government and from Eric Schmidt, former CEO and chairman of Google. Bind is also supported by NanoTemper, the Chordoma Foundation, and the Klaff Family Foundation. The government funding was officially announced at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris.

Disordered proteins comprise over 30% of human proteins, playing crucial roles in cellular signalling and regulation. Highly flexible and constantly shifting between shapes, their dynamic nature has historically rendered them “undruggable” by conventional methods. Bind Research’s ambition is to turn these elusive targets into viable opportunities for drug development.

Bind Research will develop innovative tools for experimental and computational characterisation of disordered protein-drug interactions with unparalleled speed and precision. It will also build comprehensive datasets capturing the dynamic behaviour of disordered proteins to train advanced AI models capable of predicting protein-drug interactions, accelerating the drug discovery process.

“By integrating AI with both experimental and computational innovations, Bind Research is poised to lead a new era in drug discovery – one where once-elusive disordered proteins become accessible targets for life-saving treatments,” said Gabi Heller, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer. “Our FRO structure combines the innovative spirit of start-ups with the rigorous research excellence of academia, and we are assembling an interdisciplinary team dedicated to pioneering breakthroughs that serve the greater societal good.”

The FRO model adopted by Bind Research will create public assets that drive innovation and expedite scientific breakthroughs. This structure is designed to support the discovery of treatments for common diseases while also enabling the inclusion of neglected targets, such as rare and critically underserved conditions.

“Collaboration is at the heart of Bind Research’s strategy,” Gogulan Karunanithy, scientific co-founder and Head of Magnetic Resonance, commented. “We are committed to sharing our innovative tools and datasets with the broader research community, fostering an ecosystem that bridges academia and industry.”

“Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence have already begun to revolutionise understanding of protein structures,” said Thomas Löhr, scientific co-founder and Head of Compute at Bind Research. “While tools like AlphaFold have advanced the prediction of structured proteins, their capabilities fall short when it comes to disordered proteins. Bind Research is seeking to fill this critical gap by developing high-throughput AI methodologies and building datasets that capture the dynamic nature of these proteins, potentially unlocking entirely new paradigms in drug design.”

Marcus Harrison, Chief Operating Officer, and Melissa Strange, Chief Financial Officer, have joined the expert Leadership Team of Bind Research in addition to Gabi Heller, Thomas Löhr, and Gogulan Karunanithy.

Contacts:

About Bind Research
Bind Research is a UK-based not-for-profit Focused Research Organisation (FRO) committed to improving patient outcomes by transforming disordered proteins into viable drug targets. The organisation is developing innovative tools for AI-enhanced computational and experimental characterisation of disordered protein-drug interactions with unmatched speed and precision. Additionally, Bind Research is building comprehensive datasets of these interactions to create public assets that fuel AI models, enhance predictive capabilities, and accelerate the drug discovery process. Launched in 2025, Bind Research secured financing from the UK’s Research Venture Catalyst programme, with matched support from industry, philanthropic, and charitable donors. For more information, please visit bindresearch.org.  

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• Blind Research Launch Final