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Antibody Drug Design Lab
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The lab designs next-generation antibody therapeutics based on how antibodies bind to their targets.
AboutAbout the lab
Designing next-generation antibody therapeutics from the way antibodies bind.
The Antibody Therapeutics Design Lab takes the binding mode, meaning where and how an antibody binds to its target, as the object of analysis and design, and conducts research aimed at creating next-generation antibody therapeutics.
By combining its proprietary "epitope-homogenized antibody panel" technology with AI-based structural modeling, the lab is shifting from empirical exploration to rational design.
Focusing on intractable diseases such as cancer, immune disorders, and infectious diseases, the lab's main drug discovery targets are membrane proteins such as GPCRs and immune checkpoint molecules.
The lab's website is the "Antibody Design Project" page of the National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, which lists related links for the Osaka University Cooperative Graduate School (Biomedical Innovation Science chair).
Key terms
- Epitope
- The site on an antigen's surface where an antibody binds. The binding site on the antibody side is called the paratope.
- Binding mode
- The way an antibody binds, meaning which site on the target it binds to and at what angle. It gives rise to differences in function and properties.
- Epitope-homogenized antibody panel
- The lab's proprietary technology that systematically assembles groups of antibodies that comprehensively recognize the different epitopes on an antigen surface.
- GPCR
- A type of membrane protein that spans the cell membrane multiple times. It is a drug target that regulates bodily functions in various diseases.
ResearchResearch themes
Antibodies are flexible and diverse molecules that can bind to various surfaces of a target's three-dimensional structure, and depending on the site and angle of binding, they can either enhance or suppress the target's activity. The lab takes the binding mode itself as the object of analysis and design, aiming to create next-generation antibody therapeutics that maximize therapeutic effect in the patient's body.
*Illustrative imageMaking antibodies against hard-to-drug targets
Membrane proteins such as GPCRs are promising drug targets, but antibody drug discovery for them has not been sufficiently developed. The lab is building systems to obtain and evaluate antibodies that take into account higher-order structures and complex formation on the membrane, and is advancing functional analysis and therapeutic applications.
*Illustrative imageDesigning greater drug efficacy through antibody engineering
The lab focuses on targets with high societal need, such as regulatory T cells and immune checkpoint molecules. Using antibody engineering such as bispecific and biparatopic antibodies, it designs new binding modes and mechanisms of action that are difficult to obtain with natural antibodies.
*Illustrative imageAI-based structural modeling and design guidelines
Using AI-based structural modeling and informatics analysis, the lab predicts binding modes, antibody physical properties, and off-target binding profiles. Based on these predictions, it establishes design guidelines for engineered antibodies.
*Illustrative imageEpitope classification to turn immune responses into drug discovery resources
The lab regards the antibody responses induced in immunized animals as a drug discovery resource and works to systematize epitope classification. Taking into account the regions where immune responses are induced and those where they are avoided, it aims at next-generation antibody drug discovery that makes use of binding modes.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Antibody Therapeutics Design Lab are project leaders, senior researchers, project researchers, collaborative researchers, visiting researchers, research assistants, administrative assistants, and trainees.As of 2026
- Project LeaderSatoshi Nagata
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Tislelizumab PB-1 7BXA” Fvasconcellos (talk · contribs) / Public domain (cropped)
- Making antibodies against hard-to-drug targets: “Muscarinic receptor M2 coupled to protein G - 6OIK” Vcilleros / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Designing greater drug efficacy through antibody engineering: “Alnuctamab” Jennifer Reilly / Public domain (cropped)
- AI-based structural modeling and design guidelines: “Computed Structure Models from AI and PDB Experimental Structures” Mariaurszula / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Epitope classification to turn immune responses into drug discovery resources: “Antibody IgG1 surface” Tokenzero / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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