The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a grant to Protabit LLC to make its commercial-grade computational protein design (CPD) software platform, Triad, available to subscribers as a new software-as-a-service (SaaS).
Engineered proteins are used as antibody-based human therapeutics, in microbial pathways for the production of bio-based fuels and chemicals, and in numerous other applications. Current engineering methods rely heavily on large-scale screening in the laboratory. Triad speeds the discovery of new or enhanced proteins by using computer modeling to focus screening efforts on amino acid sequences that are most likely to be useful. The core technology for Triad was developed over the past 5 years in partnership with Monsanto and the laboratory of Stephen Mayo at the California Institute of Technology, and it features cutting edge protein design, modeling, and analysis tools.
Current CPD platforms are powerful but complicated and difficult to use, and they require costly computer systems to execute the intensive calculations required for protein design. The objective of the NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to make CPD broadly accessible by harnessing the power and convenience of cloud computing. Protabit is developing Triad into a web-based, easy-to-use, collaborative CPD software application that is available by subscription, without the hassle of installing software or purchasing and maintaining expensive hardware. Triad will feature user authentication and encryption, secure data sharing, and interactive visualization tools.
Dr. Barry Olafson, Protabit CEO and co-founder, is the principal investigator on the NIH project. “We are pleased to receive this grant from NIH, which will allow us to make our powerful Triad software platform widely available via the cloud. Monoclonal antibodies and other protein therapeutics have broad applications in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Through Triad, we aim to facilitate engineering these valuable proteins for new and improved properties.”
Dr. Amos Anderson is the lead software architect for the Triad web platform. “Triad is built for the bench scientist. We’re making our substantial protein engineering expertise accessible to others through automated workflows and focused, visual output, making it easy to analyze and design proteins.”
Triad is available now for demo and pre-release to select customers.