TrueCourse Biosciences was formed in 2026 through the unification of two established specialist CROs: NanoImaging Services (NIS), founded in 2007 by Bridget Carragher and Clint Potter — two of the world’s leading cryo-electron microscopy scientists — and Proteos, founded in 2003 as a specialist recombinant protein production CRO. NIS formally acquired Proteos in 2025, and the combined entity rebranded as TrueCourse Biosciences in 2026. The company operates three facilities across the United States — in Woburn, Massachusetts (north of Boston); San Diego, California; and Kalamazoo, Michigan — and is reachable at (888) 675-8261.

The company’s founding rationale is the integration of protein production, structural biology, biophysical characterisation, and nanoparticle analytics into a single connected discovery workflow, addressing a recognised bottleneck in biologics and gene therapy research where these capabilities are typically sourced from separate specialist vendors. TrueCourse’s stated positioning — “Proven on Biology’s Hardest Targets” — reflects a scientific orientation towards challenging proteins, complex modalities, and difficult-to-characterise nanoparticle systems, including GPCRs, ion channels, membrane proteins, and viral and lipid nanoparticle-based therapeutics.

The company operates a proprietary microscopy fleet comprising six electron microscopes across its facilities, including Titan Krios cryo-EM instruments — the industry’s gold-standard platform for high-resolution structure determination — and Glacios instruments for screening and moderate-resolution work. A notable scientific milestone was the determination of a sub-2 Ångström resolution structure of AAV in 2019, at the frontier of resolution achievable by cryo-EM. Additional institutional recognition includes a USD 1.2 million SBIR grant and a published collaboration with Nabla Bio for cryo-EM validation of an AI-designed antibody at 0.93 Å resolution — one of the highest-resolution cryo-EM structures publicly reported. The company also lists a partnership with the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) for the production of Parkinson’s disease research tools.

Key Products and Services

Protein and Antibody Production

• Recombinant Protein Expression — multi-platform expression services across insect cell (baculovirus), E. coli, and mammalian cell systems; applicable to soluble proteins, membrane proteins, GPCRs, ion channels, and complex multi-subunit assemblies
• Protein Purification — chromatography-based purification and polishing workflows tailored to target protein complexity and downstream application requirements
• Custom Antibody Production — generation of research-grade antibodies to sponsor-specified targets, supporting downstream characterisation and structural studies
• Protein Analysis Services — quality control and analytical characterisation of expressed and purified protein materials
• MJFF Tools — production of research tools for Parkinson’s disease research in partnership with the Michael J. Fox Foundation

Structural Biology

• Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) — single-particle cryo-EM and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) services using a six-microscope fleet including Titan Krios and Glacios instruments; high-resolution structure determination down to sub-2 Å achievable; structure delivery in as little as two weeks from suitable sample
• X-Ray Crystallography (XRC) — protein crystallography services for high-resolution structure determination of crystallisable targets
• Gene to Structure — integrated workflow spanning gene synthesis through protein expression, purification, and cryo-EM or crystallography structure determination under a single project management framework
• Epitope Mapping — structural epitope mapping using cryo-EM to define antibody-antigen interaction sites at atomic resolution

Biophysical Characterisation

• Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) — quantitative kinetic and equilibrium binding analysis for protein-ligand, protein-protein, and antibody-antigen interactions
• Bio-Layer Interferometry (BLI) — binding kinetics and affinity determination, throughput-efficient for multi-condition screening
• Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF) — thermal stability assessment for protein candidates and formulation conditions

Nanoparticle Characterisation

• Particle Morphology and Integrity — size, shape, integrity, and aggregation characterisation of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), viral vectors (AAV, adenovirus), mRNA-LNP formulations, polymeric nanoparticles, and extracellular vesicles
• Payload Encapsulation and Distribution — gene and drug payload encapsulation efficiency and intravesicular distribution analysis
• Stability and Comparability — physicochemical stability assessment and lot-to-lot comparability studies for nanoparticle therapeutics
• Critical Quality Attribute (CQA) Analysis — CQA-driven characterisation panels supporting regulatory submissions and development-stage decision-making

Integrated Workflows

• Gene to Structure — end-to-end integrated workflow from gene sequence to high-resolution protein structure
• Epitope Mapping — integrated protein production and cryo-EM workflow for structural antibody-antigen epitope determination
• Validating AI-Designed Candidates — structural and biophysical validation workflow for antibodies, proteins, and other therapeutic candidates designed using AI-based computational tools, including cryo-EM structure determination at sub-ångström resolution

Modality and Target Coverage

Modalities: Viral vaccines, lipid-based vaccines, protein subunit vaccines, viral gene delivery (AAV, adenovirus, lentivirus), lipid nanoparticle gene delivery (mRNA, siRNA, DNA), drug delivery systems (LNPs, micelles), polymeric nanoparticles, inorganic nanoparticles, extracellular vesicles (EVs/exosomes), bacteriophages, and protein-based nanoparticles.

Targets: GPCRs, ion channels, molecular glues, PROTACs, and soluble proteins.

TrueCourse Biosciences occupies a well-differentiated position in the biologics CRO landscape as the product of a deliberate integration between two of the most scientifically credentialed specialist organisations in their respective fields: NanoImaging Services, whose co-founders Bridget Carragher and Clint Potter are internationally recognised pioneers of cryo-EM methodology, and Proteos, a nearly two-decade-old recombinant protein production CRO. The practical value of this integration is material for sponsors working on biologics discovery: the ability to move from gene construct through protein expression, purification, structural characterisation, and biophysical profiling under a single project umbrella — with a proprietary six-instrument cryo-EM fleet as the analytical centrepiece — substantially compresses the design-make-test cycle relative to multi-vendor arrangements. The company’s recent collaboration with Nabla Bio — producing a 0.93 Å cryo-EM structure of an AI-designed antibody, one of the highest-resolution cryo-EM structures on record — is a technically striking proof point that positions TrueCourse at the frontier of AI-drug discovery validation, a rapidly growing commercial application. For sponsors developing LNP-based gene therapies, mRNA vaccines, or AAV gene therapy programmes, the nanoparticle characterisation capability offers a directly complementary analytical service to the structural biology and protein production portfolio.