Matwings Launches AI-Designed Alkali-Stable Protein A, Redefining the Boundaries of Affinity Chromatography

In the biopharmaceutical manufacturing chain, Protein A affinity chromatography is widely regarded as the gold standard for antibody capture. Its performance directly affects process efficiency, manufacturing cost, and product quality. However, conventional Protein A ligands have long faced major limitations, including insufficient alkali stability and limited cycle life, making it difficult to fully meet the stringent requirements of industrial clean-in-place (CIP) processes. Achieving both alkali stability and binding capacity through protein engineering has therefore become a key industry challenge.

To address this challenge, Matwings has developed a new generation of AI-designed alkali-stable Protein A based on its proprietary MatwingsVenus™ AI protein design foundation model. The product represents a significant advance in affinity ligand engineering and provides a more efficient, scalable solution for antibody purification.

protein A

A Dual Advantage: Alkali Stability and Binding Capacity

During the development of alkali-stable Protein A, the Matwings team used its AI foundation model to precisely redesign key sequence features and structural determinants of the Protein A ligand, successfully generating a next-generation recombinant Protein A variant with both enhanced alkali stability and high binding capacity.Compared with conventional protein engineering approaches that rely heavily on empirical screening and repeated trial and error, this AI-enabled protein engineering workflow significantly improves R&D efficiency. It shortens the development timeline from 2–5 years to 2–6 months, reduces screening volume by more than 90%, increases design success rates from 0.1%–1% to 30%–85%, and lowers overall development costs by 50%–70%.

Industrialization Through Deep Integration of AI and Industry

The successful development of alkali-stable Protein A highlights the growing value of the AI for Science paradigm in end-to-end protein R&D. Backed by a large-scale protein sequence dataset and continuously evolving general-purpose models, Matwings has validated a new framework for industrial protein engineering driven by AI.

The company has established an integrated workflow spanning molecular design, bench-scale validation, pilot-scale process optimization, and manufacturing scale-up, creating a robust data flywheel that links AI-driven design with real-world industrial implementation.

ProteinA

From the laboratory to the production floor, Matwings is reshaping the foundational logic of protein development with AI. This new alkali-stable Protein A not only helps close a critical gap in the domestic market for high-end affinity ligands, but also marks an important milestone for the large-scale industrialization of AI-designed proteins. By improving both process economics and operational robustness, the product is positioned to bring new momentum to efficiency and cost reduction across the global biopharmaceutical industry.