Levitate Bio is a new for-profit subsidiary of Seattle startup Cyrus Biotechnology that is focused on expanding access to the company’s software technology, Rosetta, which is used for modeling biomolecular compounds. Owned by the Rosetta Commons Foundation, Levitate Bio has the potential to support innovation in drug development, agriculture, synthetic biology, and manufacturing. The University of Washington has issued thousands of non-commercial licenses for Rosetta, signaling its widespread adoption in the scientific community.
David Baker, the director of the UW’s Institute for Protein Design and the creator of Rosetta, believes that open-source tools are crucial for fostering broad innovation in the biotechnology industry. By making the code freely available, Baker has seen significant advancements and benefits for the industry as a whole. This aligns with the software industry trend of combining for-profit services/software businesses with non-profits to advance core technology for industry-wide benefits. Cyrus, the parent company of Levitate Bio, will continue using its platform for drug development in autoimmune diseases.
Levitate Bio’s CEO, Sam DeLuca, was formerly the director of engineering at Cyrus, bringing valuable experience to the new venture. Karen Khar, who previously served as Cyrus’ manager of scientific affairs, will be the executive vice president of sales and business development for Levitate. The startup’s team consists of engineers, bioinformatics developers, and computational protein engineers with expertise in physics- and AI-based algorithms, positioning them well for success in the biotechnology sector.
By spinning out Levitate Bio, Cyrus Biotechnology aims to expand access to its software technology and support innovation in various industries beyond drug development. Leveraging the success of Rosetta, which has been widely adopted by the scientific community, Levitate Bio has the potential to drive advancements in drug development, agriculture, synthetic biology, and manufacturing. The open-source nature of Rosetta has been key to its success and is a core principle that Levitate Bio will continue to uphold.
As the biotechnology industry increasingly relies on advanced software technology for various applications, Levitate Bio’s focus on expanding access to the Rosetta platform is timely and impactful. With a team of experienced professionals and a strong foundation in physics- and AI-based algorithms, the startup is well-equipped to drive innovation in biomolecular modeling and support a wide range of industries. By combining for-profit services with a non-profit foundation, Levitate Bio is set to make a meaningful impact on the biotechnology sector and beyond.
