Anthropic said it shifted toward themed grant programs after finding that researchers made greater progress when working on related scientific problems and sharing methods with one another.
The first research track focuses on collaborations between clinical researchers, patient organizations and data scientists to improve the discovery of disease mechanisms. As part of the effort, Anthropic is partnering with the Monarch Initiative, an international consortium that develops resources for rare disease diagnosis and research, including the Mondo Disease Ontology, the Monarch Knowledge Graph and the DisMech mechanistic disease classification library.
According to Anthropic, Claude can analyze sources such as case reports, variant databases, registry information and public datasets to identify mechanistic similarities across diseases. The company said AI for Science grantees will be encouraged to use and contribute to Monarch's resources to generate new research hypotheses that could support future treatments.
Anthropic said the program also recognizes areas where AI alone cannot solve existing challenges. The company plans to continue working with Monarch and other organizations on improving data quality, diagnostic infrastructure and patient-led research efforts while making scientific information more accessible for AI systems.
The second grant track targets early-stage biotechnology companies developing therapies for rare diseases. Anthropic said Claude could help reduce time spent preparing regulatory documentation, evaluating therapeutic strategies and identifying common mechanisms across genetic therapies that may support broader clinical trial approaches.
The company also highlighted existing AI for Science partners working in the field. Every Cure is using Claude to search for drug repurposing opportunities, the Centre for Population Genomics is building a Claude-powered system to draft variant classifications for expert review, and the Violet Research Institute is using Claude to support FDA guidance analysis, bioinformatics workflows, experimental data analysis and regulatory documentation.
Researchers accepted into either program will receive Claude API credits that can be used with Claude Opus and other approved biology models. Anthropic said projects that trigger its biological safety classifiers may qualify for exemptions.
Applications will be accepted through August 2, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PST. Anthropic said outputs from the basic research track will be published through the Monarch Initiative, and additional community activities, including rare disease hackathons, are planned.
The company said the program reflects its goal of supporting beneficial AI deployments while acknowledging that artificial intelligence has limitations in areas where biological data is limited or poorly organized. Anthropic added that AI is unlikely to address broader barriers to diagnosis, including insurance authorization and access to diagnostic infrastructure, and said continued collaboration across research institutions and public-private partnerships will remain important.
This analysis is based on reporting from Anthropic.
Image courtesy of Anthropic.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
