Protein degradation–focused Neomorph nabs its third Big Pharma deal of around $1.5 billion in less than a year.
In a licensing deal that could reach up to $1.64 billion, AbbVie is teaming up with Neomorph to develop molecular glue degraders, a modality that has caught Big Pharma’s attention of late, with Biogen, Novartis, Takeda and Novo Nordisk all striking deals last year and potentially throwing over $6 billion into the space. Biogen’s and Novo’s deals were also with Neomorph.
The new partnership will see AbbVie and Neomorph develop multiple targets in oncology and immunology. The specific terms of the deal were not revealed, although Neomorph has received an upfront payment in addition to the milestone potential.
Molecular glue degraders are a type of small molecule drugs that target and trigger degradation of proteins to disrupt cancer growth or immune system dysregulation. The drugs bring together proteins that wouldn’t typically interact and have been touted as having the potential to tackle “undruggable” targets.
Neomorph emerged in 2020 with a $109 million series A to develop targeted protein degraders for a broad range of diseases, including oncology. Its founders, which include Phil Chamberlain, Eric Fischer, Benjamin Ebert and Scott Armstrong, are leaders in the molecular glue field, specifically.
In October 2024, Neomorph signed a molecular glue deal with Biogen worth up to $1.45 billion. Earlier in the year, Neomorph secured a licensing deal worth a potential $1.46 billion with Novo Nordisk. Other Big Pharma players in molecular glues include Novartis, Roche and Takeda.
