Last week’s Biotrans 2025 conference in Basel made one thing clear: biocatalysis is no longer a supportive or niche tool. It is becoming a central driver of synthetic innovation in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and advanced chemical manufacturing.
Below, we reflect on the major scientific themes of the conference and how they intersect with the direction of our work as well as the needs of the companies we support.
One of the clearest changes across the field is the repositioning of enzyme engineering as an upstream activity. Rather than being deployed late in route development to optimise isolated steps, enzymes are increasingly used to define entire retrosynthetic strategies. This shift requires coordination across functional groups, stereochemistry, cofactor usage and downstream processing, all of which must be considered from day one. At Isomerase, we routinely co-develop biocatalytic pathways from the ground up, aligning enzyme selection, reaction conditions, and host strain compatibility in parallel. Our goal is not just to solve reactions but to deliver whole processes.
Cofactor Management
A key constraint that continues to grow in importance is cofactor handling. With the rise of cascade reactions and the broader application of SAM, NAD(P)H, and ATP dependent enzymes, cofactor supply and recycling are now front line concerns in pathway design. We are seeing the field embrace cyclic regeneration systems, allosteric tuning and protein engineering at the cofactor binding interface to enhance efficiency, selectivity, and robustness. These strategies are especially important as enzyme cascades are increasingly expected to operate in continuous or intensified formats, where cost and energy balance matter.
Expanding Chemical Space
Perhaps the most exciting evolution in the field is the broader role biocatalysis is playing in expanding chemical space, not merely optimising legacy reactions. Enzymes are now enabling regioselective functionalisation, stereoselective oxidations, carbon-carbon bond formation, and even late stage oxidative modifications that are difficult or inefficient via traditional synthetic chemistry. Notably, biocatalysts are also unlocking access to non-canonical amino acids and other unnatural motifs, supporting precision synthesis of modified peptides, conjugates, and therapeutic proteins. These innovations underpin emerging therapeutic modalities such as enzymatic oligonucleotide synthesis, site-specific peptide functionalisation and selective modification of antibodies and antibody drug conjugates. These applications demand molecular precision, mild conditions, and scalability, all areas where biocatalysis offers unmatched value.
This frontier aligns deeply with Isomerase’s heritage. Our early work in natural product biosynthesis, particularly in polyketides and nonribosomal peptides, taught us how to navigate dense multifunctional molecules and enzyme systems that operate in tightly regulated multidomain contexts. That legacy remains foundational today as we design enzyme platforms for clients developing complex scaffolds, where traditional synthetic chemistry alone cannot deliver the required precision.
Protein Engineering and AI
Another area advancing rapidly is predictive enzyme design using artificial intelligence. The field has matured from initial enthusiasm to a more grounded understanding of how digital tools can best be deployed, not as replacements for laboratory experimentation but as accelerators of hypothesis-driven design. At Isomerase, we apply these approaches through EvoSelect®, our proprietary generative protein sequence model. EvoSelect® combines unsupervised learning with probabilistic exploration of public and proprietary sequence space to map mutational fitness landscapes. The result is rapid delivery of fully optimised and IP free enzyme variants in as little as six weeks, with a strong focus on host compatibility and scale-up readiness. As highlighted at Biotrans, predictive workflows that reduce iteration cycles and streamline variant selection are now critical to maintaining competitive development timelines.
Next Steps: Bringing Biocatalysis to Industrial Scale
At BioTrans 2025, the direction is clear - biocatalysis is evolving into a systems science. Enzymes are expected to function reliably within multistep cascades, engineered microbial hosts and continuous manufacturing platforms. Demonstrating activity in isolation is no longer sufficient. Enzymes must be robust, scalable and aligned with industrial conditions.
This is where Isomerase brings real value. We do not just identify active enzymes. We design and deliver complete solutions that move from early discovery to commercial deployment. Our capabilities span expression system development, reaction optimisation, product recovery, downstream integration, all the way through to scale up. From sequence to strain to full process, we build biocatalytic pathways that solve real challenges in pharmaceuticals, biotech, agritech, food and functional materials.
For companies working on demanding biocatalysis projects, from optimising enzyme function to developing and scaling complete bioprocesses, Isomerase offers the expertise and support to help you achieve your goals. Please contact our team to start the conversation.