Pioneering Biotechnology: Basecamp Research Combines AI and DNA for Revolutionary Drug Discovery

Basecamp Research, a UK-based biotechnology firm founded in 2019 by scientists Glen Gowers and Oliver Vince, is pioneering the integration of environmental DNA sequencing with artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize drug discovery and gene editing. By collecting microbial samples from diverse and remote locations—including Malta, Antarctica, and the Arctic—the company has constructed a comprehensive digital biological database. This extensive dataset has led to the identification of over a million new species and has significantly enhanced AI models like AlphaFold, improving protein structure predictions by up to 600%. These advancements are poised to accelerate the development of treatments for complex diseases such as cancer. Basecamp emphasizes ethical data practices by paying royalties to source countries and collaborating with local researchers, addressing historical concerns of biopiracy. The company's focus now includes utilizing large serine recombinases (LSRs) for advanced gene editing applications.

Basecamp Research has established partnerships with over 100 organizations across 27 countries, including nature parks and research institutes, to collect genomic data from diverse and understudied biomes. These environments range from volcanic islands and deep oceans to jungles and the Antarctic. The company emphasizes ethical data collection by obtaining consent from stakeholders and sharing benefits, such as employing local scientists and providing training and resources.

Through these efforts, Basecamp has built a database approximately five times larger and more diverse than any other of its type. Unlike traditional protein databases, Basecamp's database is a "knowledge graph," a network that organizes data and shows relationships between billions of data points, linking protein and DNA sequences to their biological, chemical, and evolutionary contexts.

Basecamp Research utilizes its extensive biodiversity database to train AI models for various applications, including drug discovery. Their flagship AI model, BaseFold, has demonstrated superior performance in predicting complex protein structures compared to DeepMind's AlphaFold 2. This advancement is significant for understanding protein functions and interactions, which are crucial in developing new therapeutics.

The company has also developed HiFi-NN (Hierarchically-Finetuned Nearest Neighbor search), a model that annotates protein sequences with greater precision and recall than existing deep learning methods. This tool aids in understanding the functions of newly discovered proteins, further accelerating the drug discovery process.

Basecamp Research is exploring the use of large serine recombinases (LSRs), enzymes that allow viruses to insert their DNA into bacterial genomes, for advanced gene editing applications. LSRs are capable of inserting large pieces of DNA at specific locations, potentially enabling the treatment of complex diseases caused by multiple genetic mutations. This approach could surpass current gene-editing tools like CRISPR, which are typically limited to editing single genes.

In January 2025, Basecamp appointed Dr. John Finn, a gene therapy expert, as Chief Scientific Officer to lead their efforts in developing programmable genetic medicines using LSRs. The company also established a new office and lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to support this initiative.

In October 2024, Basecamp Research entered a multi-year collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. David R. Liu at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to advance new approaches to programmable genetic medicines. Concurrently, the company completed a $60 million Series B financing led by Singular, bringing its total funding to $85 million.

Basecamp Research prioritizes ethical data collection by adhering to international conventions such as the Nagoya Protocol, which requires obtaining consent and sharing benefits with local communities where data is sourced. The company works with governments and nature parks to establish agreements, ensuring a legally sound and mutually beneficial data supply chain.

Social and Societal Impacts:

• Accelerated Drug Discovery: By integrating vast biodiversity data with AI, the company is expediting the identification of novel compounds and proteins, potentially leading to faster development of treatments for complex diseases like cancer.

• Ethical Biodiversity Utilization: Their commitment to ethical data collection and benefit-sharing addresses historical concerns of biopiracy, promoting fair and equitable use of genetic resources.

• Advancements in Gene Editing: The exploration of LSRs for gene editing could revolutionize treatments for genetic disorders, offering solutions for diseases caused by multiple genetic mutations.

Basecamp Research's innovative approach to integrating biodiversity data with AI is poised to make significant contributions to drug discovery, gene editing, and ethical bioprospecting, potentially transforming the landscape of biotechnology and medicine.