Takeda has inked an exclusive license agreement with Shanghai-based Degron Therapeutics to discover and develop novel molecular glue degraders targeting oncology, neuroscience and inflammation.
Under the terms of the deal, Degron will receive an upfront payment and potential milestone payments totaling up to $1.2 billion. The collaboration will leverage Degron's GlueXplorer platform to identify, validate, and optimize molecular glue degraders for therapeutic targets selected by Takeda. Projects that reach a certain stage of advancement will be transitioned to Takeda for further development and commercialization.
Takeda will also make an equity investment in Degron, which retains full ownership of its pipeline programs. The agreement includes options to expand the collaboration to more targets.
Founded in 2021, Degron uses its proprietary GlueXplorer platform to develop molecular glue degraders for previously undruggable disease targets. The platform includes a diverse compound library, screening approaches, and extensive validation assays, supported by an AI algorithm to predict novel targets and accelerate discovery.
The industry has shown a rising interest in molecular glues. Back in February, BMS teamed with generative AI company VantAI to find new molecular glues for targeted therapeutic purposes. Weeks later, Neomorph and Novo Nordisk announced a potential $1.46 billion collaboration to develop molecular glue degraders targeting cardiometabolic diseases and rare conditions. Last year, Austria-based biotech Proxygen signed a research collaboration and license agreement with Merck to jointly develop molecular glue degraders for therapeutic targets.
Currently, only thalidomide and its analogues have been approved by the FDA. But with key players entering the ring and many clinical trials underway, the molecular glue garden sector is bound to bloom soon.