How generative AI and 'Photoshop for proteins' are transforming biopharma R&D
- Author
- Labiotech
- Published
- Fri 23 May 2025
- Episode Link
- None
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is already changing how people research, communicate, and interact, but its biggest impacts on biotech are still to come.
Cradle is a Dutch-Swiss biotech startup founded in 2021 that has developed a web-based software platform leveraging GenAI to accelerate protein design and optimization, aiding scientists in biotechnology R&D. Cradle’s technology integrates AI with wet lab experimentation, doubling the speed of most projects compared to industry benchmarks.
In this episode I talk to Cradle co-founder Elise de Reus to discover how their software platform is putting the ‘tech’ into biotech, and learn how some of the biggest names in pharma R&D are coming to rely on Cradle to accelerate their experimentation and get therapies to patients faster.
01:30 A passion for biotech from a young age
03:20 First experiences in the industry
07:23 Cradle and its mission
09:08 Generative AI at Cradle
10:27 Partnering and collaborations
13:37 Taking generative AI into the wet lab
14:43 A techbio company, not a biotech company
17:36 “Photoshop for proteins”
18:29 Use case: animal free food
20:17 Use case: medicines
23:56 Use case: sustainable materials
25:12 The Cradle business model
28:17 Technical challenges
29:48 Regulatory challenges
31:44 Where AI will have the greatest impact
33:29 The most exciting things to come
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