GlobalBio’s validated, highly diverse human antibody libraries are now available pre-integrated into Neochromosome’s novel neoSwitch™ yeast strain, enabling rapid in-house antibody discovery via yeast display and streamlined lead characterization in secretion mode.

Neochromosome, Inc., the genome-scale cell engineering subsidiary of lab automation leader, Opentrons Labworks, today announced a turnkey solution for in-house biologics discovery. The platform integrates GlobalBio, Inc.’s clinically validated antibody libraries into the Neochromosome^® neoSwitch™ yeast strain—a novel system that can both surface-display and secrete VHHs, scFvs, and other proteins relevant to therapeutics discovery. This approach enables rapid hit identification and lead optimization, saving weeks per iteration and cutting months from traditional discovery timelines.

The partnership addresses the cost, complexity, and long timelines typically associated with therapeutic antibody screening. GlobalBio’s ALTHEA Libraries™ contain billions of scFv and VHH candidates, with multiple leads already validated in clinical programs. By combining these libraries with the Neochromosome neoSwitch™ platform, organizations can run rapid in-house screening campaigns with seamless transitions from discovery to soluble antibody production. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies can reduce costs by an order of magnitude, identify lead candidates in as little as four weeks and move straight into characterization.

"This partnership resolves a long-standing challenge in biologics discovery: the tradeoffs between cost, quality, and speed," said Leslie Mitchell, PhD, CSO of Opentrons. "For years, companies have had to choose between working with opaque and unpredictable CROs, building internal capabilities over multiple years, or paying steep access fees for proprietary platforms. We're removing that choice entirely. With a target antigen in hand, researchers can start screening immediately and identify high-quality leads in just weeks – at a fraction of the traditional cost."

The global biologics market - projected to exceed $700 billion by 2030 - is fueled largely by the success of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapeutics across oncology, immunology, and infectious disease. As the field has matured, demand is rising for alternative formats that leverage antibody fragments or domains as modular targeting components in the research and development of next-generation therapies such as:

• CAR-T and TCR therapies requiring precise targeting domains
• Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems for RNA therapeutics
• Bispecific and multispecific antibodies for autoimmune and cancer treatment

Yet access to high-quality yeast-display antibody libraries remains a major bottleneck. Traditional approaches depend on animal immunization or de novo synthetic library construction—processes that can take months, cost millions, and remain out of reach for many organizations.

"The entire industry has been trying to accelerate discovery while relying on fundamentally slow processes," said Juan Carlos Almagro, PhD, CEO of GlobalBio and former head of antibody design at Johnson & Johnson. "Our ALTHEA Libraries™ contain therapeutic candidates with proven clinical potential, derisking biologics screening. Neochromosome's platform, powered by Opentrons Flex automated workflows, is helping remove months and millions of dollars from the process entirely."

The partnership's impact lies in solving multiple technical challenges that have long stifled antibody discovery:

Pre-Transformation at Scale:

Libraries containing billions of unique antibodies come pre-loaded into switchable yeast, eliminating the 2-3 months of prep work often required to initiate a discovery campaign.

Seamless Mode Switching:

The neoSwitch platform enables straightforward transitions from surface display (for binder selection) to secretion (for soluble lead production) via simple media changes with no subcloning and no host switching. What traditionally required weeks now happens in hours.

Proven Performance of GlobalBio’s ALTHEA libraries™:

• 90% of library scFvs confirmed functional, including 70% highly stable (Tm > 70⁰C) members
• Highly diverse HCDR3 regions with a Gaussian length distribution between 4-22 amino acids resembling the human natural diversity
• Several lead molecules in late stage of preclinical development and clinical testing
• Selection of broadly tumor-specific antibody fragments with unique binding properties as compared to side-by-side selections from other platforms
• Robust production yields in neoSwitch: 10-50 µg/mL (VHHs) and 50-100 µg/mL (scFvs) within 48-72 hours

“Antibody discovery lacks true end-to-end solutions. The Neochromsome neoSwitch strain solves a major pain point by making yeast display plug-and-play. Their partnership with GlobalBio delivers a powerful combined library and screening platform for VHH and scFv discovery from high-diversity libraries. It’s an ideal solution for teams rapidly screening candidates by flow, binning, or for affinity optimization” said Dr. William Strohl, former Head of Biologics at Johnson & Johnson and author of Therapeutic Antibody Engineering: Current and Future Advances Driving the Strongest Growth Area in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The partnership offers flexible access models to meet the needs of organizations of all sizes:

• Full-Service Discovery: Complete campaigns executed at Neochromosome’s facilities with eight-week turnaround
• In-House Platform: Pre-transformed libraries shipped for internal screening programs
• Annual Licensing: Unlimited campaigns under a flat-fee model for predictable budgeting and maximum flexibility

Pharmaceutical companies often maintain long lists of promising therapeutic targets that were shelved due to prohibitive discovery timelines or costs. By reducing both time and expense by over 90%, this platform makes many of those programs viable again.

"Every major pharmaceutical company has a graveyard of great ideas killed by discovery economics," noted Mitchell. "We're bringing those programs back into play. When you can run ten campaigns for the cost of one, the entire drug development equation shifts."

Early access is open now, with full commercial launch planned for Q1 2026. The platform includes comprehensive protocols, dedicated technical support, and onboarding resources to ensure successful implementation regardless of prior yeast display experience.

Organizations interested in partnership opportunities can request information at info@neochromosome.com.

About Neochromosome

Neochromosome specializes in genome-scale cell engineering that shortens the path from target to therapeutic discovery. neoSwitch^TM, developed by the team behind the Synthetic Yeast Genome Project (Sc2.0), is available to license for partners seeking faster, more flexible discovery campaigns. Neochromosome is a subsidiary of Opentrons Labworks, bringing together automation, synthetic biology, and therapeutic discovery. For more information, visit https://neochromosome.com.

About GlobalBio

GlobalBio, Inc. develops therapeutic antibody libraries validated for clinical development. Founded with National Science Foundation support, the company's ALTHEA Libraries™ combine natural human HCDR3 diversity from 200 donors combined with highly developable, well-known synthetic framework and optimized diversity in the other CDRs. Multiple therapeutic candidates discovered from these libraries have progressed to late stage preclinical development and clinical testing. GlobalBio is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://globalbioinc.com.

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"With a target antigen in hand, researchers can start screening immediately and identify high-quality leads in just weeks – at a fraction of the traditional cost."