EpiC

EpiC, developed by Raven Biosciences, is an advanced in silico platform for epitope characterization that delivers atomistic-level detail on antigen/antibody interfaces. By combining molecular protein docking with molecular dynamics simulations, EpiC provides state-of-the-art performance in predicting and characterizing the precise interactions between antibodies and their target antigens.

EpiC is designed for R&D teams that require accurate and detailed descriptions of antibody-antigen interactions. Whether the goal is to prioritize a hit list of therapeutic antibodies, troubleshoot diagnostic antibody assays, or optimize an antibody's affinity and selectivity, EpiC offers a cost-effective approach to gaining deep mechanistic understanding — enabling teams to design focused experiments and reduce time and cost in antibody and assay development.

Key Capabilities

• Provides epi- and paratope characterization at atomistic resolution, revealing the precise amino acids governing the binding interface
• Delivers time-resolved interaction heatmaps and averages derived from simulated trajectories, run in triplicate for statistical confidence
• Generates short movies of physics-based simulations illustrating the dynamics of antigen-antibody interactions for intuitive visual understanding
• Identifies not only how key amino acids interact, but also where to engineer changes to improve or disrupt binding — supporting both affinity and selectivity optimization
• Proposes testable mutants based on detailed interface data to further validate the binding interface

Workflow Steps

1. Prepare structures from available input data
2. Dock proteins computationally
3. Identify the most likely antigen/antibody interfaces
4. Run molecular dynamics simulations of the best candidate interfaces
5. Rank interfaces based on simulation results
6. Analyze interactions and inform antibody design decisions

Getting Started

• The minimum input required is the name and species of the antigen and the amino acid sequence of the antibody
• Additional information can be incorporated to enhance the workflow, including crystal structures of the antigen or antibody, approximate epitope location, glycosylation information for the antigen, and knowledge of antigen conformations stabilized by the antibody

EpiC has been validated in real-world therapeutic development contexts, including its use by Alligator Bioscience to characterize the epitope of mitazalimab, a phase 3 ready CD40 antibody, and to identify novel CD40 antibodies with similar binding characteristics for next-generation conditional CD40 agonist development. The platform is delivered as a service by Raven Biosciences, with users contacting the team directly to initiate a project.