Proxygen Announces Strategic Collaboration with Merck to Develop Molecular Glue Degraders

VIENNA, June 02, 2022–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Proxygen, a leader in the discovery and development of molecular glue degraders, today announced that the company has entered into a multi-year strategic research collaboration and licensing agreement with Merck. Proxygen is eligible to receive up to €495 million ($554 million at the average USD/EUR Q1 2022 exchange rate) in ongoing funding for R&D, preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial success-based stages , as well as additional royalties. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will jointly identify and develop molecular glue degraders to clinical candidate stage.

“We are extremely pleased to start this long-term collaboration with Merck, a globally recognized player in the pharmaceutical industry who shares our drive for dynamic innovation for the benefit of patients. Partnership Validates the Unique Potential of Proxygen’s Glue Degrader Platform and Strategically Leverages Our Common Strengths in Targeted Protein Degradation“, says Dr. Bernd Boidol, CEO of Proxygen.

The molecular degraders in the glue redirect the cell’s own quality control machinery to the pathogenic proteins, inducing their selective and complete elimination. Due to their ability to modulate classes of proteins that would not lend themselves to traditional drug discovery approaches, glue degraders promise to unlock much of the non-drug target space and provide innovative therapies for diseases. in high medical need. The lack of scalable discovery strategies has, however, so far impeded the full exploitation of the clinical potential of molecular glue degraders.

By streamlining and fully integrating state-of-the-art genomics, proteomics and biochemical technologies, Proxygen has successfully developed a highly versatile glue degrader discovery engine. The ligase-agnostic screening approach allows for the specific and unbiased identification of molecular glue degraders against difficult-to-treat or completely drug-free targets on a large scale. The vast amounts of know-how and data generated in the discovery and chemical optimization of degrading molecules are continuously improving the understanding of this new modality and contributing to Proxygen’s pioneering role in the field of molecular glue degraders.

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About Proxygen
Founded in 2020, Proxygen is focused on the discovery and development of molecular glue degraders against targets of unmet medical need in various indications. While advancing its internal programs toward clinical development, the company also nurtures strategic partnerships to co-create synergies throughout the drug development pipeline. With headquarters and labs in Vienna, Austria, Proxygen employs both local and remote talent across Europe. For more information, please visit www.proxygen.com.

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contacts

Proxygen GmbH
Bernd Boidol
Chief executive officer
[email protected]