BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--C4 Therapeutics today announced that they will enter into a strategic collaboration with Roche to develop novel treatments in the field of targeted protein degradation (TPD) using C4’s Degronimid™ technology. C4’s Degronimids represent a new class of small molecules, TPD therapeutics, which target disease-causing proteins and facilitate their rapid destruction and clearance from the cell through the ubiquitin/proteasome system (UPS).
“Roche is a leader and early adopter of innovation in drug discovery and this significant collaboration comes at a critical time in our development,” said Marc Cohen, co-founder and executive chairman of C4 Therapeutics. “This partnership strengthens our leadership position in the field of TPD therapeutic drug discovery. It is part of our strategy to enter into multiple target-specific partnerships that will allow us to pursue a broad set of indications in parallel, while supporting the continued development of our proprietary platform.”
Under the terms of the agreement, C4 will initially develop TPD therapeutics that utilize Degronimid technology for a specific set of target proteins. After successful completion of a defined preclinical development phase, Roche has the option to pursue further pre-/clinical development and commercialization. C4 will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and additional development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments per target, as well as sales milestone payments and potential tiered royalties on sales of products resulting from the agreement. The potential value of the deal over time is greater than $750 million.
C4's Degronimid technology platform was pioneered in 2010 by researchers in the Bradner Laboratory at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and is exclusively licensed to C4 Therapeutics from Dana-Farber. Degronimids link drug-like small molecules to the cellular ubiquitin/proteasome system to naturally eliminate targeted proteins by tagging them with ubiquitin for destruction by the proteasome. Degronimids are capable of hitting many more targets than protein inhibitors or peptide-based approaches, and are active against previously undruggable targets, while also reducing potential for drug resistance. This paradigm shift in drug development is applicable to a broad range of diseases.
C4 Therapeutics recently announced that it was launched from Dana-Farber with the closing of a $73 million Series A financing to translate the breakthrough Degronimid technology into a new class of therapeutics that target proteins for degradation. The Company’s scientific cofounders include Ken Anderson, M.D., and Nathanael Gray, Ph.D., both from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and James “Jay” E. Bradner, M.D., a former investigator at Dana-Farber.
About C4 Therapeutics
C4 Therapeutics is developing a new
class of targeted protein degradation (TPD) therapeutics for the
treatment of a broad range of diseases. Our Degronimid™ platform
incorporates highly selective small molecule binders to target
disease-causing proteins and facilitate their rapid destruction and
clearance from the cell through the natural ubiquitin/proteasome system
(UPS). Because of this distinctive mechanism, Degronimids are capable of
hitting many more targets, including those previously thought to be
undruggable, while reducing the potential for drug resistance. The broad
applicability of Degronimids, and our chemical biology platform designed
for accelerated validation, have the potential to make an unprecedented
impact across many diseases through multiple industry collaborations as
well as proprietary programs.
More information about C4 Therapeutics is available at www.C4Therapeutics.com.
