Neomorph is building out its supply of Big Pharma partnerships, this time stamping down an option-to-license pact with AbbVie that centers around the biotech’s molecular glue platform.
AbbVie will pay the San Diego biotech an undisclosed upfront sum and offer up to $1.64 billion in option fees and milestones, plus royalties, according to a Jan. 23 release.
The new partners will look to develop molecular glue degraders—a novel class of small molecules designed to selectively degrade proteins that drive disease—for multiple targets across oncology and immunology.
"Protein degraders represent a groundbreaking advancement in the field of drug discovery and at AbbVie we are committed to advancing this technology forward," Steven Elmore, Ph.D., AbbVie’s vice president of small molecule therapeutics and platform technologies, said in the release. "We are excited to collaborate with Neomorph to develop novel molecular glue degraders that could pave the way for new, effective therapies in the treatment of immune disorders and cancer."
Neomorph emerged in 2020 and quickly garnered a neuro deal worth up to $1.45 billion in biobucks with Biogen, plus a partnership with Novo Nordisk that offers up to $1.46 billion.
The Deerfield-backed biotech touts the potential molecular glue degraders have to go after targets that have previously been considered “undruggable.” At the end of 2020, the company raised $109 million in a series A financing, money designed to advance its platform and programs—and grow its research team.
Big Pharma has been extremely active in the molecular glue field as of late, with other industry giants such as Roche, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck & Co., and Eisai flocking to the area in recent years.