I arrived in Boston on Saturday after a long day of travel and was pleasantly surprised by a free bus into downtown (thanks, Boston MBTA). After a much-needed sleep, I headed to the conference centre, checked into my hotel (thank you, PEGS team), and tried not to explode from nerves. Thankfully, the talk went well; there were plenty of questions, and I quickly settled into speaking in front of the group. With an audience of around 50 people\u2014only slightly larger than an OPIG group meeting\u2014it felt like familiar territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solo conference tip<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAttending a conference on your own can be a little intimidating, and the first day can feel a bit lonely. If the conference has a young scientists’ meetup or networking event, go to it! It’s a great way to meet people early on, and the whole experience is much more enjoyable when you have a conference buddy (shout-out to Rucha \ud83d\udc4b\ud83d\ude0a).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Science highlight: The Immunogenicity Database Consortium (IDC)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAs a self-confessed database enthusiast (watch this space for OAS-nano), I was particularly impressed by the work of the Immunogenicity Database Consortium (IDC). Immunogenicity data is notoriously difficult to work with: it\u2019s highly variable, hard to compare across studies, and often not easily accessible. The IDC is tackling this by consolidating data from sources such as the FDA into a unified, searchable database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far, they have compiled 4,146 anti-drug antibody (ADA) datapoints across 218 therapeutics. Using multivariate regression, they found that mechanism of action is the strongest predictor of ADA frequency. This kind of cross-study insight simply wouldn\u2019t be possible without data at this scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clean, well-curated datasets are essential for training meaningful machine learning models, and the IDC is laying the groundwork for this in immunogenicity research. It\u2019s exciting to think about the potential for accurate immunogenicity prediction in the future. Even more impressive is that the IDC is a volunteer-driven effort, built purely for the advancement of science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To read more about the IDC, see their pre-print on biorxiv: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
S. Agnihotri, B. Gonzalez-Nolasco, B. Monian, S. Pattijn, C. Ackaert, P. Wu, H. Kettenberger, S. Tourdot, T. Hickling, Z. Hu, R. E. Higgs, D. S. Leventhal, The Immunogenicity Database Collaborative (IDC): A Standardized, Publicly Available Database for Clinical Immunogenicity Observations and Insights. bioRxiv [Preprint] (2025). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.64898\/2025.12.08.692993<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nConference takeaways<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAntibodies take centre stage<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nDespite not making it into the acronym, antibodies are undeniably the stars of PEGS. The vast majority of the talks I attended, along with many of the booths in the exhibit hall, focused on antibodies in one way or another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miniproteins are hot right now<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nWith advances in machine learning and AI, miniproteins (the smallest proteins that still fold and function like a protein) are gaining traction due to their designability. They featured in several talks, including those from BindCraft and AI Proteins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A strong industry presence<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nWith only about 8% of attendees coming from academia, I occasionally felt like the odd one out. On the other hand, it was fascinating to see so much innovation coming out of biotech startups, and the conference provided plenty of opportunities to connect with people working in industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plushies!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nI didn\u2019t expect this, but I came home with seven stuffed toys from the exhibit hall! Highlights include three Giant Microbes, a Highland cow, and a yellow polka-dot llama. Special thanks to the company that gave me a Nalgene bottle, which I used it to smuggle them all home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One essential Boston recommendation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIf you ever find yourself in Boston: go to the Harvard Museum of Natural History.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nI was told this repeatedly, and it absolutely lived up to the hype. The glass flower exhibit is astonishing\u2014it genuinely doesn\u2019t look real. Knowing it was created by a father-son duo between 1886 and 1936 makes it even more impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a self-confessed database enthusiast (watch this space for OAS-nano), I was particularly impressed by the work of the Immunogenicity Database Consortium (IDC). Immunogenicity data is notoriously difficult to work with: it\u2019s highly variable, hard to compare across studies, and often not easily accessible. The IDC is tackling this by consolidating data from sources such as the FDA into a unified, searchable database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far, they have compiled 4,146 anti-drug antibody (ADA) datapoints across 218 therapeutics. Using multivariate regression, they found that mechanism of action is the strongest predictor of ADA frequency. This kind of cross-study insight simply wouldn\u2019t be possible without data at this scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clean, well-curated datasets are essential for training meaningful machine learning models, and the IDC is laying the groundwork for this in immunogenicity research. It\u2019s exciting to think about the potential for accurate immunogenicity prediction in the future. Even more impressive is that the IDC is a volunteer-driven effort, built purely for the advancement of science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To read more about the IDC, see their pre-print on biorxiv: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
S. Agnihotri, B. Gonzalez-Nolasco, B. Monian, S. Pattijn, C. Ackaert, P. Wu, H. Kettenberger, S. Tourdot, T. Hickling, Z. Hu, R. E. Higgs, D. S. Leventhal, The Immunogenicity Database Collaborative (IDC): A Standardized, Publicly Available Database for Clinical Immunogenicity Observations and Insights. bioRxiv [Preprint] (2025). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.64898\/2025.12.08.692993<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite not making it into the acronym, antibodies are undeniably the stars of PEGS. The vast majority of the talks I attended, along with many of the booths in the exhibit hall, focused on antibodies in one way or another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With advances in machine learning and AI, miniproteins (the smallest proteins that still fold and function like a protein) are gaining traction due to their designability. They featured in several talks, including those from BindCraft and AI Proteins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With only about 8% of attendees coming from academia, I occasionally felt like the odd one out. On the other hand, it was fascinating to see so much innovation coming out of biotech startups, and the conference provided plenty of opportunities to connect with people working in industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t expect this, but I came home with seven stuffed toys from the exhibit hall! Highlights include three Giant Microbes, a Highland cow, and a yellow polka-dot llama. Special thanks to the company that gave me a Nalgene bottle, which I used it to smuggle them all home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you ever find yourself in Boston: go to the Harvard Museum of Natural History.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I was told this repeatedly, and it absolutely lived up to the hype. The glass flower exhibit is astonishing\u2014it genuinely doesn\u2019t look real. Knowing it was created by a father-son duo between 1886 and 1936 makes it even more impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\nConference takeaways<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Antibodies take centre stage<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Miniproteins are hot right now<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
A strong industry presence<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Plushies!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
One essential Boston recommendation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.blopig.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/66438F6D-3277-4A3C-B2D2-DCC7F827A883_1_105_c.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1\")
<\/a>