November 10, 2026 | Andrew Bradbury (Specifica) and Ben Hackel (University of Minnesota) pressure-test AI antibody engineering against real measurements on the latest episode of The Chain. They explore where algorithms match results from the bench and where they still fall short. They also trace how better datasets, better blinding, and better developability thinking can make the next generation of antibody discovery more trustworthy and more useful.

Listen in to hear:
• why the field needs prospective, blinded benchmarks instead of marketing claims
• how the Nature Biotechnology antibody challenge is structured across three tasks
• about affinity maturation results where the best AI matches the best experimental outcomes
• why developability screens can overturn “best affinity” winners
• what CDR design gets right today and where it still breaks in practice
• how investor pressure and publication gaps distort perceptions of progress
• the origin of Specifica and the Gen 3 library idea of matched, developable building blocks

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The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics.