AbbVie has entered into a strategic licensing agreement with Neomorph worth up to $1.64 billion to develop molecular glue degraders targeting multiple oncology and immunology indications. The partnership includes an undisclosed upfront payment to Neomorph along with potential milestone payments.
This collaboration marks another significant investment in the rapidly evolving field of molecular glue degraders, a novel therapeutic modality that has attracted substantial interest from major pharmaceutical companies. In the past year alone, Biogen, Novartis, Takeda, and Novo Nordisk have collectively committed over $6 billion to similar partnerships.
The Science Behind Molecular Glue Degraders
Molecular glue degraders represent a revolutionary approach to drug development. These small molecule compounds function by bringing together proteins that wouldn't typically interact, triggering the degradation of disease-causing proteins. This mechanism allows them to target proteins previously considered "undruggable" by conventional small molecule approaches.
Unlike traditional small molecule drugs that require specific binding pockets on target proteins, molecular glue degraders can potentially address the estimated 90% of disease-causing proteins that lack such binding sites. They work by enhancing interactions between a disease-causing protein and an E3 ubiquitin ligase, ultimately leading to the protein's destruction.
"Glues give companies the opportunity to go after the most impactful targets with a completely different set of rules. It's an incredible opportunity," Phil Chamberlain, CEO of Neomorph, has stated regarding the technology's potential.
Neomorph's Growing Industry Presence
Founded in 2020 with a $109 million Series A financing round, Neomorph has rapidly established itself as a leader in the protein degradation field. The company's founding team includes recognized experts in molecular glue technology: Phil Chamberlain, Eric Fischer, Benjamin Ebert, and Scott Armstrong.
The AbbVie partnership represents Neomorph's third major pharmaceutical collaboration in recent months. In October 2024, the company secured a deal with Biogen worth up to $1.45 billion focused on Alzheimer's, rare and immunological diseases. Earlier in the year, Neomorph also formed a partnership with Novo Nordisk potentially worth $1.46 billion targeting cardiometabolic and rare diseases.
Beyond these collaborations, Neomorph continues to advance its own pipeline of molecular glue degraders targeting solid tumors.
Industry Momentum in Protein Degradation
The AbbVie-Neomorph deal reflects growing industry confidence in protein degradation approaches. The field has evolved significantly since the serendipitous discovery of thalidomide's mechanism of action as a molecular glue degrader that targets cereblon, an E3 ubiquitin ligase.
"This year in particular seems to be a big year for deals," noted Ryan Schoenfeld, CEO of The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research. "This is a kind of next stage maturity in this space."
Most companies in the molecular glue degrader space focus on one of two E3 ubiquitin ligases—cereblon and the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) protein. However, Neomorph has reportedly identified additional structures within proteins that can be targeted, as well as novel ligases beyond cereblon and VHL, potentially expanding the approach to thousands of previously inaccessible proteins.
Advantages Over Other Protein Degradation Approaches
Molecular glue degraders offer several advantages over other protein degradation technologies like PROTACs (proteolysis-targeting chimeras). Their smaller size—comparable to traditional small molecules and approximately half the size of PROTACs—makes them particularly attractive for neurological indications where crossing the blood-brain barrier is essential.
The therapeutic potential for molecular glue degraders extends across multiple disease areas. As Bernd Boidol, CEO of Proxygen, has explained, "Any disease driven by a misfunctioning protein, glue degraders can be an answer to that."
Looking to the Future
The AbbVie-Neomorph collaboration adds to the growing momentum in the molecular glue degrader field. With multiple pharmaceutical companies now making substantial investments, the technology appears to be reaching an inflection point.
Industry experts believe recent breakthroughs in the rational design of molecular glue degraders have helped overcome previous challenges in the field. As companies advance their programs toward clinical development, the true potential of this novel modality in addressing previously untreatable diseases will become clearer.
For AbbVie, this partnership represents an opportunity to strengthen its oncology and immunology portfolios with cutting-edge technology capable of addressing novel targets. For Neomorph, the collaboration provides additional resources to advance its platform while validating its approach through partnership with an established pharmaceutical leader.
