Proxygen Announces Strategic Collaboration with Merck to Develop Molecular Glue Degraders
2.6.2022 18:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Proxygen, a leader in the discovery and development of molecular glue degraders, announced today that the company has entered into a strategic multi-year research collaboration and license agreement with Merck. Proxygen is eligible to receive up to €495 million ($554 million at the average USD/EUR FX rate of Q1 2022) in continuous R&D funding, upfront and success-based pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones, as well as additional royalty payments. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will jointly identify and develop molecular glue degraders up to a clinical candidate stage.
“We are incredibly excited to start this long-term collaboration with Merck, a globally recognized player in the pharmaceutical industry that shares our drive towards dynamic innovation for the benefit of patients. The partnership validates the unique potential of Proxygen’s glue degrader platform and strategically leverages our common strengths in the targeted protein degradation field,” says Dr. Bernd Boidol, CEO of Proxygen.
Molecular glue degraders re-direct the cell’s own quality control machinery towards disease-causing proteins, inducing their selective and complete elimination. Because of their capability to modulate protein classes that would not be amenable to traditional drug discovery approaches, glue degraders hold the promise of unlocking a large proportion of the undruggable target space and delivering innovative therapies for diseases with high medical need. The lack of scalable discovery strategies has however so far hindered the full exploitation of the clinical potential of molecular glue degraders.
By streamlining and fully integrating cutting-edge genomic, proteomic, and biochemical technologies, Proxygen has successfully developed a highly versatile glue degrader discovery engine. The ligase-agnostic screening approach enables the specific and unbiased identification of molecular glue degraders against difficult-to-drug or completely undruggable targets at large scale. The vast amounts of know-how and data generated in the discovery and chemical optimization of degrader molecules continuously improve the understanding of this novel modality and contribute to Proxygen’s pioneering role in the molecular glue degrader space.
About Proxygen
Founded in 2020, Proxygen is focused on the discovery and development of molecular glue degraders against targets of unmet medical need across various indications. While advancing its internal programs towards clinical development, the company also maintains strategic partnerships to co-create synergies along the drug development pipeline. With its headquarters and laboratory operations in Vienna, Austria, Proxygen employs talent both locally and remotely all over Europe. For more information, please visit www.proxygen.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005002/en/
Contact information
Proxygen GmbH
Bernd Boidol
Chief Executive Officer
office@proxygen.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Reply Expands Prebuilt AI Apps With New Production-Ready Applications to Accelerate Enterprise AI Adoption28.5.2026 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
Reply[EXM, STAR: REY] today released a new set of Prebuilt AI Apps: ready-to-use agentic applications designed to drive efficiency and business growth by accelerating the integration of AI into enterprise processes. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260528283268/en/ Prebuilt AI Apps are ready-to-use agentic applications designed to accelerate the integration of AI into enterprise processes, driving efficiency and supporting business growth. In developing the Prebuilt AI Apps, Reply has identified key areas within enterprise processes where AI can create tangible operational value and turned them intoreusable assets, combining deep process knowledge, curated datasets, domain ontologies and reusable agentic flows in robust, secure and production-ready solutions. Each application can be further customised and extended through integration with enterprise systems, internal data and knowledge bases, while maintaining
Klarna Partners With Arrive for Parking in 15 Markets28.5.2026 10:56:00 EEST | Press release
Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, has partnered with Arrive, a leading global mobility platform, to bring seamless and flexible payment options to millions of consumers across 15 markets. Through the partnership, drivers will be able to pay for parking using Klarna’s Pay in Full, which will be available directly in Arrive’s EasyPark app, ensuring payments can be made instantly. This provides consumers with more flexibility and control over their everyday spending, and builds on Klarna's growing presence in everyday spending and saving, where consumers increasingly use Klarna for recurring, low-friction purchases alongside savings products like Klarna Balance. Arrive, formerly EasyPark Group, operates one of the world’s largest digital parking networks, facilitating high frequency payments across millions of spots in more than 20,000 cities and 90 countries. By providing the digital infrastructure that helps individuals and decision-makers make smarter urba
Navan Unlocks Savings for Travelers with First SAS NDC Direct Connect28.5.2026 10:01:00 EEST | Press release
Navan (NASDAQ: NAVN), the global AI-powered business travel and expense platform, today announced a New Distribution Capability (NDC) integration with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). By allowing the airline to share its fares, availability, and offers directly in real time, the integration provides an expanded portfolio of SAS fares and services to Navan customers. This makes Navan the first Travel Management Company (TMC) to access SAS NDC content via a direct connection, leveraging version 21.3 of the NDC API. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260528812727/en/ Direct connection gives travelers access to lower fares and streamlined post-booking services “Our Modern Airline Retailing journey is centered on delivering more relevant offers, greater transparency, and better value for travelers,” said Edward Fotheringham, VP Sales & Distribution at SAS. “By connecting directly with Navan via our NDC channel, we’re expa
Navan Strengthens European Train Offering with Swedish Rail Integration28.5.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Navan (NASDAQ: NAVN), the global AI-powered business travel and expense platform, today announced the addition of more than 20 Swedish rail carriers to its platform, including Sweden’s largest operators, SJ and VR. Powered by SilverRail's global rail distribution platform, the API integration unlocks access for Navan customers to domestic rail routes in Sweden, as well as many popular cross-border routes in the region, such as between Stockholm and Copenhagen. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260528696890/en/ Through a direct connection with SilverRail, Navan adds more than 20 Swedish rail carriers to its long list of European rail options “We’re seeing strong momentum in Sweden,” says Michael Riegel, Chief Customer Officer at Navan. “It’s a unique economy where you have this intersection of industrial companies, in manufacturing, maritime, and automotive, colliding with a world-class tech and AI scene. Our gro
KKR to Open New Office in Milan, Strengthening Long-Term Commitment to Italy28.5.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced plans to open an office in Milan, further strengthening its long-term commitment to Italy and expanding its local presence in one of Europe’s largest economies. The office will support the firm’s investment activity across Private Equity, Real Assets, Credit and Insurance, while deepening client partnerships and advancing the continued development of KKR’s private wealth business in Italy. Italy has been an important market for KKR for over two decades, with over €10 billion of capital deployed since 2005 across Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit. The firm’s investments include FiberCop, Europe’s first wholesale-only, open-access fibre network, Enilive, a key player in advancing Italy’s energy transition, and CMC, a sustainable packaging leader using robotics to drive innovation. These investments reflect KKR’s focus on partnering with businesses in sectors critical to long-term economic growth and transformation, and on suppor
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom