Claude's scorpion antivenom experiment yields binders, not a drug
An investment firm's test with Anthropic found promising protein starting points but no working treatment.
Curious#08
211
protein designs Claude produced for testing
Image: The Verge
211protein designs Claude produced for testing
The short version
- Citrini Research teamed up with Anthropic to see whether an unreleased version of Claude could design scorpion antivenom.
- Anthropic said Claude generated nearly 320,000 candidates, narrowed to 211 designs.
- Two outside labs tested the designs, and 17 proteins bound to four of the five targeted scorpion toxins.
- Citrini admitted the proteins were not tested for neutralizing the toxin, and outside experts called the results far from a medicine.
Why it matters
The story shows how far AI-driven discovery is from a usable drug, even when the early steps work. Experts said binding is relatively easy, while translating proteins into safe medicines remains the hard part. Developers should note that the most novel part, according to researchers, was the autonomous process rather than the biology.
“The hard part is to translate it into a medicine.”