Cyrus Biotechnology, Inc., based in Seattle, is spinning off its software and services division, Levitate Bio, to introduce the Cyrus platform to the broader biopharma sector. This move supports the development of its IdeS IgG degrading enzyme for treating various IgG-mediated autoimmune diseases, as well as its ACE2v2, a COVID prophylactic/therapeutic candidate in the IND stage, along with other autoimmune and oncology projects currently in the discovery phase. While Cyrus continues to leverage this platform, Levitate aims to expand its business across the biopharma industry. The technologies developed by Levitate are also applicable in fields like agriculture, synthetic biology, manufacturing, and research.

Levitate Bio, headquartered in Seattle, will be fully owned by the Rosetta Commons Foundation (RCF). This foundation was created by the Rosetta Commons, a collaborative initiative that developed the Rosetta biomolecular modeling suite, managed by the University of Washington. Rosetta is utilized by over 60,000 non-commercial users and more than 200 commercial entities, and it has recently transitioned to open-source for non-commercial use.

Levitate’s creation follows a trend in the software industry of combining a for-profit entity that provides services and software with a nonprofit that advances core technology for broad industry impact. “We are excited to establish a for-profit organization that bridges the gap between academic innovation and practical drug discovery, potentially making a significant impact on patients' lives,” said Jeff Gray, Director of the Board at Rosetta Commons and a board member at RCF.

Levitate maintains strong connections with Rosetta Commons, with Cyrus itself originating from David Baker’s lab, where the Rosetta software was developed. Building on this heritage, both Cyrus and Levitate have refined the software for automated use. “The AI algorithms for protein design have advanced to the point where we can design nearly any protein, yet these tools are still not widely utilized in biopharma companies. I look forward to Levitate making these tools accessible to more scientists, enabling new drug discoveries,” stated David Baker, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington.

Levitate will be managed by Sam DeLuca, Ph.D., former Director of Engineering at Cyrus, with Karen Khar, Ph.D., serving as EVP of Sales and Business Development. The team includes full-stack engineers, SRE engineers experienced in a DevOps environment, bioinformatics developers, and PhD-level computational protein engineers skilled in developing both physics-based and AI-based algorithms, including custom AI model training and benchmarking on proprietary data.

“The field of algorithm-driven protein optimization and design is rapidly evolving. We've found that a static suite of software products does not meet the dynamic needs of the pharma industry, which is why Levitate will offer a comprehensive range of software and services customized to each customer's needs,” commented Sam DeLuca, CEO of Levitate. For more details on the services Levitate offers, visit: https://levitate.bio/

Cyrus has utilized the Levitate platform to develop multiple novel IND-stage biologics, discover new intellectual property in collaboration with over 30 pharmaceutical companies, and as the foundation of the GUI software, Cyrus Bench, which has been adopted by more than 120 pharmaceutical firms globally across North America, the EU, Asia, and other regions. Levitate Bio is currently onboarding new clients and expanding its range of services.

 

Source: businesswire.com

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