Third Rock Ventures and Parse Biosciences  announced a strategic collaboration to create an unprecedented atlas of 5 million T cell receptors (TCRs) using Parse Biosciences’ GigaLab platform. The project is led by a stealth Third Rock Ventures portfolio company that is developing precision medicines for autoimmune disease.

The first-of-its-kind study will generate the world’s largest TCR dataset focused on T-cell mediated autoimmune disease, offering an essential resource to decode disease-driving immune signatures and reveal novel therapeutic targets. The new company will leverage the insights provided by mapping the genetic diversity of TCRs at this massive scale to speed the development of novel precision medicines for underserved patients with limited options today.

“This effort positions us to deliver the most comprehensive TCR Atlas for T-cell mediated disease ever assembled,” said Dr. Hugo Hilton, Principal at Third Rock Ventures, who is guiding discovery and development for the new portfolio company. “The ability to generate and analyze data of this magnitude rapidly has not only identified novel therapeutic targets but also accelerated our drug discovery program far beyond initial expectations.”

This initiative will be run through the Parse GigaLab, an advanced facility dedicated to the generation of massive-scale single cell RNA sequencing datasets. Leveraging Parse’s Evercode chemistry, the GigaLab rapidly produces large single cell datasets with exceptional quality.

“Our mission is to enable researchers to ask bigger questions than ever before,” states Charlie Roco, PhD, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Parse Biosciences. “This TCR atlas demonstrates how GigaLab empowers the community with datasets of unmatched quality and scale, fueling breakthroughs in disease understanding and accelerating the development of novel therapeutics.”