BOSTON & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) and Kymera Therapeutics today announced that the two companies have entered into a four-year strategic research and development collaboration to advance small molecule protein degraders against multiple targets. The collaboration will leverage Kymera’s expertise in targeted protein degradation and its proprietary Pegasus™ drug discovery platform and Vertex’s scientific, clinical, and regulatory capabilities to accelerate the development of first-in-class medicines for people with serious diseases.
“This collaboration with Kymera will enhance our drug discovery capabilities and support our strategy of investing in scientific innovation to develop transformative medicines for serious diseases,” said Mark Bunnage, Senior Vice President and Site Head, Boston Research at Vertex. “We’ve been impressed by the Kymera team’s depth of knowledge in the field and compelling technology platform, and are excited to bring our research and development expertise to this promising new therapeutic modality.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Vertex to combine their deep understanding of human biology and genetics with Kymera’s state-of-the-art protein degrader platform,” said Laurent Audoly, Ph.D., President and CEO, Kymera Therapeutics. “This strategic partnership will broaden the application of targeted protein degradation to address serious diseases beyond cancer with limited or no treatment options. This fits perfectly with Kymera’s vision to build a platform that is disease agnostic and delivers the broadest possible impact.”
About the Collaboration
Under the terms of the four-year
agreement, Vertex will pay Kymera $70 million upfront including an
equity investment in the company. Kymera will conduct research
activities in multiple targets under the collaboration. Upon designation
of a clinical development candidate, Vertex has the option to
exclusively license molecules against the designated target. Kymera is
also eligible to receive more than $1 billion in potential payments
based upon the successful achievement of specified research,
development, regulatory, and commercial milestones for up to six
programs optioned as part of the collaboration. In addition, Vertex will
pay tiered royalties on future net sales on any products that may result
from this collaboration.
About Kymera Therapeutics
Kymera Therapeutics is a
biotechnology company pioneering a transformative new approach to
treating previously untreatable diseases. The company is advancing the
field of targeted protein degradation, accessing the body’s innate
protein recycling machinery to degrade dysregulated, disease-causing
proteins. Powered by Pegasus™, a game-changing integrated degradation
platform, Kymera is accelerating drug discovery with an unmatched
ability to target and degrade the most intractable of proteins, and
advance new treatment options for patients. For more information visit www.kymeratx.com.
About Pegasus™
Pegasus™ is Kymera Therapeutics’ proprietary
protein degradation platform, created by its team of experienced drug
hunters to improve the effectiveness of targeted protein degradation and
generate a pipeline of novel therapeutics for previously undruggable
diseases. The platform consists of informatics driven target
identification, novel E3 ligases, proprietary ternary complex predictive
modeling capabilities and degradation tools.
About Vertex
Vertex is a global biotechnology company that
invests in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for
people with serious and life-threatening diseases. In addition to
clinical development programs in CF, Vertex has more than a dozen
ongoing research programs focused on the underlying mechanisms of other
serious diseases.
Founded in 1989 in Cambridge, Mass., Vertex's headquarters is now located in Boston's Innovation District. Today, the company has research and development sites and commercial offices in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and Latin America. Vertex is consistently recognized as one of the industry's top places to work, including being named to Science magazine's Top Employers in the life sciences ranking for nine years in a row.
For additional information and the latest updates from the company, please visit www.vrtx.com.
(VRTX-GEN)
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press
release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation,
Dr. Bunnage’s statements in the second paragraph of the press release,
Dr. Audoly’s statements in the third paragraph of the press release, and
statements regarding future activities of the parties pursuant to the
collaboration. While Vertex believes the forward-looking statements
contained in this press release are accurate, these forward-looking
statements represent Vertex's beliefs only as of the date of this press
release and there are a number of factors that could cause actual events
or results to differ materially from those indicated by such
forward-looking statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, among
other things, Vertex may not realize the anticipated benefits of the
collaboration, and the other risks listed under Risk Factors in Vertex's
annual report and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and available through the company's website at www.vrtx.com.
Vertex disclaims any obligation to update the information contained in
this press release as new information becomes available.
