Monte Rosa joins with Novartis in ‘molecular glue’ drug deal

Dive Brief:

• Novartis will pay $150 million to gain rights to “molecular glue degraders” being developed by biotechnology company Monte Rosa Therapeutics to target an immune signaling protein, known as VAV1, that has long been considered “undruggable.”
• The deal, announced by the companies Monday morning, could yield up to $2.1 billion in further payments by Novartis to Monte Rosa should the licensed research reach certain development, regulatory and sales milestones.
• Molecular glue degraders are small molecule drugs that join together a target protein with an enzyme responsible for flagging cellular detritus for disposal. In Monte Rosa’s case, the company believes degrading VAV1 could weaken certain immune cell functions, thereby slowing the progression of immune-mediated diseases.

Dive Insight:

Novartis’ deal with Monte Rosa centers on an early-stage drug candidate dubbed MRT-6160 that’s currently in a Phase 1 study of healthy volunteers.

Monte Rosa and Novartis see potential for MRT-6160 to treat “multiple” systemic and neurological autoimmune diseases, Monte Rosa CEO Markus Warmuth said in an email to BioPharma Dive.

Under the deal, Monte Rosa will wrap up the ongoing Phase 1 clinical study, while Novartis will handle development from Phase 2 onwards. The biotech will co-fund any Phase 3 testing that occurs and also share in any profits or losses associated with MRT-6160’s commercialization, should it get that far.

“Novartis has had a long-standing interest in molecular glue degraders, which offer the potential to tackle challenging biological targets,” said Fiona Marshall, head of biomedical research at Novartis, in the companies’ statement. “We are excited about their application in immunology and the early progress we have seen by Monte Rosa in this space and with MRT-6160.”

For Monte Rosa, Novartis’ support will help it “fully explore the potential of MRT-6160” in a variety of immune diseases, Warmuth said in his email. The company plans to use the $150 million it will receive from Novartis to extend its operating runway and advance its own research.

In addition to VAV1, Monte Rosa is exploring targeting other proteins, including ones called NEK7, CDK2 and CCNE1, with its molecular glue technology.

Monte Rosa previously partnered with Novartis’ cross-town rival Roche to apply molecular glue degraders to cancer and neurological diseases. Other biotechs are exploring the drug concept as well, and have struck collaborations with Pfizer, Astellas and Bristol Myers Squibb.

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