BOSTON and REHOVOT, Israel, Jan. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Monte Rosa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUE), a biotechnology company developing novel glue-degrading molecular drugs, announced a licensing and collaboration agreement research with Dr. Nir London and the Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, which aims to accelerate the discovery and development of new covalent molecular glue degraders by exploiting CoLDR technology ( covalent ligand-directed release).
Dr. London, Principal Investigator of the Weizmann Institute and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Monte Rosa, is a world-renowned chemical biologist who applies computational and experimental methods to the design and discovery of new compounds, emphasizing the focus on the covalent mechanism of action. Dr. London and his team at the Weizmann Institute developed the CoLDR technology, which uses covalent chemical inhibitors as a targeting system for the selective release of cargoes (e.g., cancer drugs and probes) or for specific labeling of site. This technology has the potential to be applied to the targeted area of protein degradation, including the development of novel molecular glue degraders for cancer and other diseases.
“We are delighted to partner with Dr. London and his team at the Weizmann Institute to use CoLDR technology to advance the field of targeted protein degradation through the identification of novel E3 ligases and covalent recruiters of E3 ligase adapted to the molecular degradation of glue,” said Sharon. Townson, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer of Monte Rosa. “Through this research collaboration, we hope to not only expand the target universe of E3 ligase, but also unlock more therapeutically relevant proteins that were previously considered undermedicated by other small molecule approaches.”
“We are extremely pleased to partner with the experienced team at Monte Rosa, who – through the development of their QuEEN platform – have demonstrated a detailed understanding of the molecular interactions promoted by their molecular glue degraders,” said Dr London. “By leveraging CoLDR technology, we hope to further expand the potential of QuEEN to identify potent and highly selective therapies for patients who currently have few or no treatment options.”
About Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing a portfolio of novel glue-degrading molecular drugs. These drugs are designed to use the body’s natural mechanisms to selectively eliminate therapeutically relevant proteins. The company has developed a proprietary protein degradation platform, called QuEEN™ (Whatantitative and Edesigned Eelimination of NOTeosubstrates), which allows it to rapidly identify protein targets and molecular glue degraders, or MGDs, product candidates designed to remove therapeutically relevant proteins in a highly selective manner. The Company’s drug discovery platform combines diverse and proprietary chemical libraries of small molecule protein degraders with in-house proteomics, structural biology, AI/machine learning-based target selection and computational chemistry to predict and obtain protein degradation profiles. For more information, visit www.monterosatx.com.
About the Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel is one of the best multidisciplinary research institutes in the world. Noted for its broad exploration of the natural and exact sciences, Weizmann Institute scientists advance research in the human brain, artificial intelligence, computing and encryption, astrophysics and particle physics, and s tackle diseases such as cancer, while tackling climate change through environmental, ocean and plant science. For more information, visit www.weizmann.ac.il.
About Yeda
Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd. is the business arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Yeda currently manages around 500 unique patent families and has generated the highest revenue per researcher of any university technology transfer operation in the world. Over the years, Yeda has helped bring a number of breakthrough therapies to market, such as Copaxone, Rebif, Tookad®, Erbitux®, Vectibix®, Protrazza®, Humira®, and recently the CAR-T cancer therapy Yescarta®. For more information, visit www.yedard.com/.
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