Anthropic adds Basecamp Research antibiotic design tools to Claude Science

Researchers have gained access to specialized design tools for antibiotics and vaccines through Claude Science, an integrated workbench released by Anthropic. The platform, which became available for life sciences research as of 30 June 2026, consolidates over 60 scientific databases and connectors designed for genomics, proteomics, and structural biology. Among the key additions to this workbench are the EDEN models developed by Basecamp Research, which allow scientists to generate and prioritize therapeutic candidates through conversational prompts.

The collaboration seeks to address a persistent public health gap. Drug-resistant infections are associated with nearly 5 million deaths annually, yet the pharmaceutical industry has significantly reduced its investment in the development of new antibiotics. By pairing the reasoning capabilities of Claude with the biological design framework provided by EDEN, researchers can transition from a target to a shortlist of high-performing candidates in minutes.

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"Microbes have been producing antibiotics and evolving resistance to each other for billions of years. EDEN learned from that history, and now, through Claude, researchers all over the world can design successful new antibiotics in minutes, not years."

Glen Gowers, Co-founder and CEO of Basecamp Research, via PR Newswire

Scientific Validation and Methodology

The performance of the EDEN model is rooted in its training on BaseData, a proprietary dataset containing more than 10 billion protein sequences. This data is derived from samples collected during expeditions to over 200 locations in more than 30 countries. The collection efforts spanned diverse environments, including polar ice, deep-sea sediment, thermal springs, and high-altitude plateaus. According to Basecamp Research, this database offers a 10-fold expansion in known protein diversity compared to the combined contents of all public databases.

The efficacy of these designs has undergone laboratory testing. Research conducted in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania’s Machine Biology Group demonstrated that 97% of the antibiotic peptides designed by EDEN were active against World Health Organization priority pathogens. In one case, a candidate designated as EDEN-7 showed efficacy comparable to last-line antibiotics during tests on mice infected with multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. These results were achieved "zero-shot," indicating the model generated the peptide without the need for subsequent iterative engineering.

"This collaboration shows how frontier biological foundation models can be paired with rigorous experimental validation to accelerate antibiotic discovery. Antimicrobial resistance is one of the greatest existential threats facing humanity and collaborations like this between academia and industry are critical."

César de la Fuente, Presidential Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, via AOL

Streamlining Vaccine Prioritization

In addition to antibiotics, the platform assists in vaccine development by identifying proteins likely to trigger a protective immune response. By using the Claude Science interface, researchers can run prioritization workflows against a pathogen’s genetic sequence, condensing the research process into a single conversational interaction.

Jonah Cool, Head of Life Sciences Partnerships and Deployment at Anthropic, stated that the integration provides a new method for researchers to explore and prioritize treatments for dangerous pathogens. The tools are currently accessible through the Anthropic connectors directory, which includes Claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Claude Mobile, Claude Code, and Cowork, alongside Claude Science.

Future Developments and Data Provenance

Basecamp Research plans to continue expanding its data foundation. Through the Trillion Gene Atlas, a multi-institutional partnership involving Anthropic, NVIDIA, PacBio, and Ultima Genomics, the company aims to increase its BaseData collection by 100-fold over the next two years. The organization emphasized that its data collection adheres to informed-consent and benefit-sharing agreements, ensuring that communities stewarding the sampled biodiversity share in the resulting value.

Basecamp Research has indicated that additional specialized applications are expected to be released over the coming year as it continues to integrate these models into professional scientific workflows.