“However, we know that our AI system has limitations, as it was unable to design successful binders against an 8th target, TNFɑ, a protein associated with autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.”
DeepMind leads with 88% of candidate binders sticking to the viral protein BHRF1. That is one target, chosen for the headline. The claim of 3 to 300 times better binding covers seven targets, all graded in DeepMind’s own wet lab. The eighth target, TNFɑ, got zero working binders, and it is the one with a known link to rheumatoid arthritis.