Anthropic has acquired Mithril Medicine, a one-person biotech startup, and is now running drug discovery programs of its own. Founder Cody Tranbarger used Claude to coordinate contracts, logistics and experiments with 11 external labs. Anthropic says that work took a potential treatment for a rare form of muscular dystrophy from an idea to promising results in mice in under 18 months. Mithril has been developing treatments for two rare forms of muscular dystrophy. Tranbarger is continuing the research at Anthropic, which says a drug could be ready to start human trials as early as late 2028 if the candidates continue to hold up. Anthropic also announced research partnerships with six organizations, including Bristol Myers Squibb, Generate Biomedicines and Enveda. The work spans drug design, manufacturing, regulatory documentation and clinical trial planning. Most of the research remains preclinical. The broader goal is to use Claude across the scientific and operational work required to move a potential medicine toward patients. 27-OCT-2026 06:19 PM ET