Asimov Announces Strategic Partnership with the Rosalind & Morris Goodman Cancer Institute at McGill University to Advance Next-Generation Biologics

Asimov will provide cell line development and process development services to support promising biotherapeutic molecules identified through McGill’s oncology research programs

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BOSTON, MA, June 18, 2026–Asimov, the company building an AI-native synthetic biology platform to advance therapeutic development, today announced a strategic partnership with the Rosalind & Morris Goodman Cancer Institute (GCI) at McGill University. Through the collaboration, Asimov will provide cell line development and process development services to researchers at the GCI and McGill, supporting next-generation biologic candidates as they progress through IND-enabling studies and toward clinical development.

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“The GCI has a long track record of fundamental advances in cancer biology. As a strategic platform partner to the GCI, Asimov is excited to support the PIs and broader team as they continue pushing the boundaries of cancer research,” said Alec Nielsen, co-founder and CEO at Asimov. “As we expand our platform into earlier stages of drug discovery, including AI-powered multispecifics design, our goal is to make sure leading research institutions like the GCI have the best tools behind their science at every step.” 

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“The GCI's mission is to translate fundamental cancer discovery into therapies that improve outcomes for patients, and that means giving our scientists access to technologies that match the molecular complexity of today's most promising therapeutic candidates,” said John Stagg, PhD, Director of the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute at McGill University. “Asimov's platform gives our researchers the ability to go from a promising design to a manufacturable molecule and a high-titer cell line, and we look forward to working with the Asimov team to shorten the distance between a discovery in our labs and a therapy that helps patients.” 

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Over the past fifteen years, advances in clinical oncology have enabled the development of checkpoint inhibitors and other advanced biologics that have changed how clinicians treat cancer. The field is now moving rapidly into complex, multispecific architectures that engage multiple immune and tumor targets at once, opening up mechanisms that a single binder cannot achieve.

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Bridging the gap between discovery and manufacturability is still a major challenge for many researchers, as the bioproduction systems most academic labs have access to today were not designed for the level of molecular complexity seen in next-gen therapeutic candidates. As a result, many promising biologics are produced in relatively low-titer cell lines, creating a bottleneck on the path from a compelling discovery to a candidate ready for IND-enabling studies. The GCI sits at the forefront of efforts to translate fundamental cancer research into clinical outcomes, with research programs that integrate AI, computational biology, and advanced cancer modeling to uncover the mechanisms driving cancer and identify new therapeutic targets.

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Through this partnership, GCI and McGill researchers will gain access to Asimov's CHO Edge System, an AI-powered cell line development platform that routinely achieves titers of 8 to 12 g/L across biologic modalities, from standard IgGs to more complex architectures including multispecifics and fusion proteins. CHO Edge combines Asimov's proprietary GS knock-out CHO host, hyperactive transposase, and genetic parts library with Kernel, Asimov's computer-aided genetic design software, which uses AI models trained on Asimov's experimental database to recommend molecule-specific vector designs.

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About Asimov

Asimov’s mission is to advance humanity’s ability to design living systems, enabling biotechnologies with outsized societal benefit. The company is developing a synthetic biology platform—from cells to software—to design and manufacture next-generation therapeutics, including biologics, cell and gene therapies, and RNA through a combination of products, services, and collaborations. 

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Founded by bioengineers from MIT and Boston University and headquartered in Boston, the company has raised over $200 million from top institutional investors including Andreessen Horowitz, CPP Investments, Horizons Ventures, and Fidelity Management & Research Company. For more information, visit www.asimov.com.

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About the Rosalind & Morris Goodman Cancer Institute at McGill University

A part of McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the GCI brings together world-leading scientists and clinicians in a collaborative environment tackling the most important problems in cancer research through innovative thinking and a multidisciplinary approach. Supported by state-of-the-art infrastructure, the GCI is a recognized world-class research Institute contributing to innovative developments in the treatment and ultimately the cure for cancer. For more information, visit www.goodmancancer.ca. 

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