IPA's LENS ai ™ Platform Delivers X-Ray–Level Epitope Mapping Insights in Hours, Matching Gold-Standard Methods with Greater Speed

Business Wire

12-05-2025

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (IPA) (NASDAQ:IPA) a leader in AI-driven biotherapeutics, is pleased to announce today new benchmarking results that validate the accuracy and utility of its in silico epitope mapping application, part of the LENS ai ™ platform, with a direct comparison to gold-standard wet-lab methods.
LENSai's AI-powered platform was able to match the performance of x-ray crystallography—the industry's most precise but slowest and most expensive method—using sequence data alone
The results represent a notable advancement in computational biology, particularly in the field of antibody discovery, where high failure rates and costly, time-intensive experiments remain common industry challenges. LENS ai 's AI-powered platform was able to match the performance of x-ray crystallography—the industry's most precise but slowest and most expensive method—using sequence data alone.
"In an industry where over 95% of drug candidates fail before reaching the clinic, accelerating decisions earlier in the discovery pipeline isn't a luxury—it's a necessity," said Dr. Jennifer Bath, CEO of IPA. "With LENS ai, we're demonstrating that AI is designed to deliver accurate, scalable, and human-relevant biological predictions that were previously only accessible through months of experimental work."
In the benchmarking study, LENS ai 's in silico epitope mapping application was tested across five known antibody-antigen pairs and against multiple experimental techniques, including HDX-MS, alanine scanning, and x-ray crystallography. The AI system produced predictive scores (AUC 0.79–0.89) comparable to or exceeding those achieved by leading wet-lab methods, while reducing turnaround time from weeks to hours.
Epitope mapping is a cornerstone of antibody development, informing everything from IP strategy to candidate selection. Traditionally, this requires expensive, time-consuming lab work using scarce protein samples. LENS ai transforms this by delivering early-stage epitope insights from sequence alone, reducing both cost and risk.
This breakthrough aligns with growing regulatory and industry momentum around New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), including the FDA's recent decision to phase out animal testing requirements for biologics. By eliminating the need for physical materials and enabling near–x-ray-level precision, LENS ai advances ethical, scalable, and high-resolution approaches to biotherapeutic discovery
We view this achievement as a meaningful advancement that enhances the capabilities of drug discovery platforms" added Dr. Bath. "LENS ai is now capable of providing pharma and biotech partners with validated, in silico answers to questions that once required months of wet-lab commitment."
This latest achievement marks a major step in the broader development of LENS ai, IPA's AI-driven discovery platform. Building on previous releases, including in silico antibody engineering, epitope prediction, and multi-omics integration, LENS ai continues to demonstrate its ability to deliver high-resolution, scalable insights across key stages of biotherapeutic discovery. Today's advancement in epitope mapping reflects the growing power of the platform we have been strategically building — connecting sequence-based precision, accelerated timelines, and deep scientific insight to transform the future of therapeutic development.
To read the full case study: LENSai Epitope Mapping Matches X-ray Crystallography
About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. is a techbio company that leverages multi-omics modeling and complex artificial intelligence through a series of proprietary and patented technologies. The Company owns an integrated end-to-end suite of capabilities to support the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies and is known for solving complex industry challenges. IPA has several subsidiaries in North America and Europe including entities such as Talem Therapeutics LLC, BioStrand BV, ImmunoPrecise Antibodies (Canada) Ltd. and ImmunoPrecise Antibodies (Europe) B.V. (collectively, the 'IPA Family').
Forward-Looking Statements
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