Big Pharma eyes a slew of molecular glues

At the end of October, Novartis and Monte Rosa Therapeutics signed a deal to license the start-up’s VAV1 degrader MRT-6160 for possible use in immune conditions. The deal is just one in a series of molecular glue deals as Big Pharma eyes the growing field and the biotechs building it. Biogen and the start-up Neomorph , along with Pfizer and Triana Biomedicines , agreed to partnerships last month, and Takeda Pharmaceutical and the start-up Degron Therapeutics entered into a deal in June. Molecular glues are usually small molecules that join two proteins, typically a target and another agent that prompts the cell machinery to degrade said target. PROTACs, or proteolysis-targeting chimeras , are another type of degrader; they have similar but distinct functionalities compared with molecular glues. If molecular glues are like double-sided tape that binds a degrader and target, PROTACs are like a bungee cord, with hooks connected to