LenioBio GmbH (Düsseldorf, Germany) and Twist Bioscience Corporation (Nasdaq: TWST) have formed an AI collaboration aimed at compressing the design–build–test cycle for protein and antibody discovery. The pairing will integrate LenioBio’s ALiCE cell-free protein expression platform with Twist’s DNA manufacturing automation and characterization infrastructure.
The collaboration pairs two complementary enabling technologies. LenioBio’s ALiCE protein expression system is a eukaryotic cell-free platform capable of producing full-length, folded, functional proteins within 24 hours. Twist contributes its DNA manufacturing automation capabilities and an existing protein characterization infrastructure that the company has been expanding as part of its Biopharma Solutions offering.
The stated aim is to reduce the latency between computational protein design and wet-lab validation — a bottleneck that limits the utility of AI drug discovery workflows. In AI-driven antibody and protein design, computational models generate candidate sequences, but experimental feedback is required to correct or confirm those predictions. When expression and characterization steps take weeks, the iterative loop slows considerably. By coupling Twist’s high-throughput DNA synthesis with LenioBio’s rapid eukaryotic expression, the collaboration is designed to return experimental data to AI models faster and more frequently.
The ALiCE cell-free protein expression platform
The ALiCE platform is LenioBio’s core commercial asset and the technical centerpiece of the partnership. Unlike prokaryotic cell-free systems, ALiCE supports eukaryotic post-translational modifications, enabling production of complex molecules — including glycoproteins and multi-domain antibodies — that are difficult or impossible to produce in bacterial expression systems. The platform’s 24-hour turnaround compresses timelines that would typically require days to weeks in mammalian cell-based systems.