An Australian female-led startup, OmnigeniQ, has made headlines this week in San Francisco by unveiling a groundbreaking computer model that visualizes human proteins as they exist within the human body. This pioneering achievement, presented at the Biotech Showcase by Co-founder and CEO Jordana Blackman, marks a significant advancement in the field of modern medicine.
The breakthrough demonstrates that protein behavior can be accurately calculated using principles of physics, a development that could transform drug development processes. “What this unlocks for modern medicine is profound,” Blackman stated. “If you know the true, dynamic structure of a protein, you can design a drug that engages it with far higher specificity. That means fewer off-target effects, fewer failed candidates, and a faster path to viable therapies.”
Implications for Drug Development
OmnigeniQ’s innovative approach promises to have a substantial impact on the pharmaceutical industry, which invests billions annually in drug candidates that often fail due to a lack of understanding of their protein targets. “Physics accurate protein computation changes that equation and gives us the ability to completely overturn the process of drug development,” Blackman emphasized.
The startup’s all-female team is ambitiously working towards creating the world’s first holographic twin of the human body—a living, physics-accurate digital replica aimed at making medicine more preventative, predictive, and precise.
Technological Breakthrough with Deterministic Intelligence
The breakthrough was achieved using OmnigeniQ’s Deterministic Intelligence model, a novel class of artificial intelligence that computes biological structures from physics rather than relying on data pattern recognition. This model reveals proteins in their native, hydrated, and dynamic forms.
Co-founder and Chief Science Officer Tiffanwy Klippel-Cooper, who developed this game-changing approach, explained, “Proteins have always been treated as objects to be imaged or inferred, rather than physical systems to be computed.” She continued, “In reality, a protein’s structure emerges from interacting physical constraints – charge distribution, hydration, field effects, and continuous motion.”
“I designed the computational model to let those constraints resolve the structure deterministically. Computing CDK5 from first principles shows that native protein conformations are not something we have to guess or approximate – they are a direct consequence of physics.”
Founders’ Vision and Background
OmnigeniQ was co-founded by Tiff Klippel-Cooper and Jordana Blackman, who first met in 2024. Klippel-Cooper, a multi-disciplinary scientist with expertise in genetics, biological science, medical science, pathology, and archaeology, has been driven by her personal experience with a severe connective tissue disorder to develop new scientific tools.
The announcement comes as the biotech industry increasingly seeks innovative solutions to streamline drug development and reduce costs. By leveraging physics-based computations, OmnigeniQ’s model could potentially shorten the timeline for bringing new therapies to market, offering hope for more targeted and effective treatments.
Looking Ahead
The move represents a significant step forward in the application of physics to biological systems, with potential implications extending beyond drug development to other areas of medical research. As OmnigeniQ continues to refine its technology, the company is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of personalized medicine.
Meanwhile, industry experts are watching closely to see how this innovative approach will be integrated into existing drug development frameworks. The success of OmnigeniQ’s model could inspire further research and investment in similar physics-based methodologies, paving the way for a new era in biotechnology.
