Asimov Launches CHO Edge Rapid Pools to Bridge Biologics Discovery and CMC with Predictive Stable Expression

• Harmonized expression: New platform enables stable CHO pools to be rapidly generated in high-throughput, replacing transient expression during lead optimization. Accessible either as an outsourced service or via technology in-licensing.
• Derisked candidate selection: Improved translatability for molecule titer and product quality data between discovery and manufacturing.
• Accelerated lead selection-to-IND timelines: Rapid Pools can advance directly to single cell cloning, which accelerates IND timelines while improving consistency between CMC and discovery stages.

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BOSTON, MA, December 16, 2025–Asimov, the synthetic biology company advancing the design and manufacture of therapeutics, today announced the launch of CHO Edge Rapid Pools, a high-throughput stable CHO expression system that brings CMC-grade performance and assurance to biologics discovery teams. Rapid Pools enables fast and high-throughput generation of stable CHO pools during lead optimization. This allows multiple lead molecules or architectures to be tested in parallel, resulting in insights that are more predictive of downstream manufacturability and developability. Rapid Pools enables therapeutic developers to make more informed candidate and architecture selections, reduce late-stage development failures, and accelerate timelines to IND.

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The rapid expansion of complex biologics—bispecifics, multispecifics, Fc-fusions, and beyond—has exacerbated the disconnect between discovery-stage expression systems and downstream manufacturability. Transient expression, still widely used for screening and lead optimization, often fails to surface molecule liabilities caused by chain mispairing, instability, aggregation, or poor assembly. As a result, programs may advance molecules with hidden developability risks, which can result in inefficient/expensive production processes, timeline delays, and even program termination.

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Rapid Pools addresses this developability gap by providing discovery teams with CMC-grade pools and molecule insights to influence lead optimization, architecture selection, and manufacturability assessments. Powered by Asimov’s new high-efficiency transposase, CHO-K1 GS host, and model-guided vector design, the Rapid Pools platform is a miniaturized, optimized version of Asimov’s pool generation process that can generate hundreds of stable pools in a single campaign. The lead pools can then be directly advanced to single cell cloning and/or bioreactor production, accelerating the path to clinic by months.

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"The disconnect between discovery and manufacturing is one of the biggest frustrations we hear from partners. As the industry shifts toward multispecifics and other complex architectures, the predictive gap between transient and stable expression has widened, often leading to costly late-stage failures," said Alec Nielsen, co-founder and CEO of Asimov. "With Rapid Pools, we are effectively bringing manufacturing ‘truth’ upstream to enable smarter lead optimization and candidate selection."

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Asimov has expanded its CHO Edge portfolio to support customers throughout the therapeutic journey, with offerings spanning molecule design and cell line development to early look material generation and process development. Recently, Asimov successfully completed its first Rapid Pools customer campaign, which generated critical insights that impacted candidate selection. 

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To learn more about accessing CHO Edge Rapid Pools as a high-throughput service or via in-licensing, please visit https://www.asimov.com/cho-edge-expression-system.

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About Asimov 

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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/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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