Peptide discovery covers the platforms and methods used to find new peptide drug candidates — phage display, mRNA display, biocatalysis, AI-driven design, and academic combinatorial chemistry.
Key threads on this site: AI-discovered peptides moving toward IND from Profluent, MeddenoVo, Mexa-AI, and Generate Biomedicines; biocatalysis using peptide asparaginyl ligase (PAL) for scalable cyclization; HMD-AMP transformer-based AMP discovery from HLB Innovation in Nature Biomedical Engineering; and AACR 2026 abstracts on de novo cyclic-peptide design for undruggable targets. The University of Utah PapB radical-SAM thioether cyclization paper opened a new chemistry route for GLP-1-like cyclic peptides.
Stories here cover platform launches, validation papers, and partnership deals. See #drug-discovery and #ai-drug-discovery for adjacent threads.
Fifty 1 Labs (OTC:FITY) announced the expansion of its peptide discovery and clinical research strategy targeting musculoskeletal health, recovery, and performance. The company is building a proprietary peptide discovery engine focused on MSK biology, combining AI-enabled design with staged clinical development for muscle, tendon, ligament, and bone conditions — an area largely overlooked by the GLP-1 dominated peptide pipeline.
Stanford scientists used AI to identify BRP, a naturally occurring peptide that acts directly on the hypothalamus to suppress appetite — avoiding the gut-related side effects of current GLP-1 drugs. In animal studies, BRP reduced body weight and fat without nausea, constipation, or muscle loss. Published in Nature, with human trials planned.
Zealand Pharma announced a new Cambridge research hub combining 25+ years of peptide expertise with AI-driven drug discovery, expanding its obesity and metabolic health pipeline.