Global competition on de novo nanobody and minibinder design, with 5,000+ designed sequences slated for free wet-lab testing
The Changjiang Cup 2026 Global AI Protein Design Challenge is now open for registration. The challenge invites researchers worldwide to turn computational protein designs into experimentally validated molecules, with a total prize pool of CNY 1,000,000.
The competition is guided by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization and the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology. It is jointly initiated and hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai AI Laboratory, Lingang Laboratory, and other leading institutions, and organized by the Institute of Natural Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Participants will design nanobodies (VHH antibodies) or minibinders against a range of targets. At least 5,000 designed sequences are expected to undergo free wet-lab testing, including expression, purification, and binding assays.
Protein design is entering a new phase. Structure prediction models keep improving, and generative models now produce sequences not found in nature. As a result, AI-designed antibodies and binders are moving from research papers into discovery pipelines.
The next challenge is proving that these candidates work in the lab. They need to express, purify, and bind their intended targets. The Changjiang Cup puts wet-lab validation at the center of the competition, giving participants real experimental data on their designs.
Founded in 2012 and certified to ISO 9001:2015, Biointron is a CRO specializing in antibody discovery, expression, and optimization for biotech and pharmaceutical companies. We deliver purified antibodies from gene sequence in 2 weeks. We have supplied tens of thousands of recombinant antibodies to more than 3,000 biotech and pharma companies worldwide.
As AI models generate more candidates per design cycle, fast and standardized lab data are essential for model validation and iteration. Biointron's RushData platform is built for this need. It combines 1-day CHO expression, binding analysis, and developability profiling into a high-throughput workflow that can handle more than 20,000 molecules per week. RushData turns computational predictions into experimentally confirmed candidates.
Biointron sponsors the Changjiang Cup 2026 because its focus on wet-lab validation matches our own work: closing the loop between computational design and experimental data.
The challenge is open to universities, research institutes, corporate R&D teams, interdisciplinary groups, independent researchers, and individual innovators. Registration runs from September 24 through October 31, 2026. Researchers across AI and the life sciences are encouraged to enter their models and designs and help bring AI-designed proteins into real-world use.
Challenge inquiries: zbztzhz@sjtu.edu.cn
Biointron inquiries: info@biointron.com
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