A high-speed method has been developed to generate many different, small, stable proteins from scratch, custom-designed to bind to specific therapeutic targets. Protection against infectious diseases, like flu, and antidotes to nerve toxins are but two research goals of this approach. The method rapidly originates thousands of new drug candidates. These computer-designed proteins, which did not previous exist in nature, combine the stability and bioavailability of small molecule drugs with the specificity and potency of larger biologics.