Started joint research with Keio University, Institute for Advanced Biosciences

Curreio, Inc. and Keio University Institute for Advanced Biosciences have signed a joint research agreement with the aim of rapidly search for new physiologically active substances that can be used for drug discovery candidates.

In recent years, the depletion of effective antibiotics due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria has become a serious problem all over the world, and the rapid development of various antibiotics is urgently needed. Satoshi Yuzawa, a specially appointed lecturer at Keio University, Advanced Life Research Institute, is working on the development of technology for mass-producing antibiotic-like compounds in microorganisms using huge artificial proteins.

Structural analysis technology using Cryo-EM is one of the best technologies in the three-dimensional structural analysis of biomolecules, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017. In particular, single particle analysis using a Cryo-EM does not require crystallization and could obtain a structure in an aqueous solution, which is a big advantage against X-ray crystallography. It has brought technological innovations for membrane proteins that were difficult to crystallize.

In this joint research, we aim to apply the structural analysis technology by Curreio to the design of artificial proteins and put it into practical use in the drug discovery industry. The progress of this research may significantly accelerate the development of bioactive substances, including new antibiotics.