W. R. Grace & Co. (Grace) and Molecule.one have announced a strategic, multi-year agreement to discover and deploy new, scalable ways to manufacture chemical compounds.
In the first phase of the collaboration, the companies will advance the synthesis of certain peptide building blocks using Molecule.one's MARIA platform for AI and high-throughput experimentation.
Grace and Molecule.one are working together to address a supply chain bottleneck in peptide components — the building blocks essential for manufacturing therapeutics, including the rapidly expanding GLP-1 treatments for weight loss and diabetes.
With strong demand for metabolic-disease peptides, the global market is expected to more than double by 2030, surpassing $100bn and underscoring the urgent need for more efficient scaling and production.
"Combining Grace's deep expertise in fine chemicals with Molecule.one's award-winning AI and automation platform will allow us to transform the way we scale and manufacture pharmaceuticals while strengthening our capabilities at our US Fine Chemicals Manufacturing sites," said Brenda Kelly, President, Materials Technologies, Grace.
"The first phase of this collaboration will accelerate how complex peptide building blocks are produced, reducing development timelines and helping drug manufacturers bring innovative treatments to patients faster."
"Following Grace's successful validation of our technology, we sat down to discuss strategic priorities," said Piotr Byrski, co-founder and CEO of Molecule.one.
"We quickly identified significant synergies, which made the collaboration natural."
"Working closely with Grace scientists, the MARIA platform will not only optimise processes, but help discover completely novel, scalable ways to make molecules — starting with complex peptide building blocks."
"This collaboration represents the first deployment of an AI-driven discovery and synthesis platform designed to enable large-scale chemical manufacturing — from initial scaling through full production."
With Molecule.one's MARIA platform conducting AI analysis and autonomously running thousands of miniaturised reactions, Grace can rapidly identify and prioritise novel, efficient production routes for the building blocks that complex peptides depend on.
Combining computational approaches with high-throughput experimentation will enable development speed and ensure reliable, reproducible lab results, giving pharmaceutical customers a critical advantage over conventional synthesis methods for peptide building blocks, which are often inefficient and difficult to scale.
The Standard Industries Chemical Innovation Challenge was a global competition designed to accelerate innovation in chemical retrosynthesis by harnessing the power of AI.
Among the more than 30 teams that entered the Challenge, Molecule.one emerged as the winner of the $1m award, recognised for its advanced AI platform, MARIA.