Astellas and Cullgen Announce Strategic Collaboration to Develop Innovative Protein Degraders with Potential Deal Value Exceeding $1.9 Billion

On June 15, Astellas (Okamura) and Cullgen announced that the two companies had reached a research collaboration and exclusive option agreement to discover multiple innovative protein degraders.

The aim of the two companies is to develop a variety of targeted protein degraders by combining Cullgen's proprietary uSMITE™ targeted protein degradation platform with Astellas' drug discovery capabilities. Cullgen and Astellas will collaborate on joint research to identify clinical development candidates. Thereafter, Astellas will have exclusive licensing rights to the candidate drugs for clinical development and commercialization of the discovered protein degradation compounds. Cullgen will have the right to share costs, profits, and losses, and co-commercialize the lead project developed through the collaboration in the United States, which Cullgen previously identified as a cyclin degrader for the treatment of breast cancer and other solid tumors.

Cullgen uSMITE™ Protein Degradation Platform

Astellas will pay Cullgen an upfront payment of $35 million. Cullgen is also eligible to receive an additional $85 million payment after Astellas exercises the license option for the leading project. If Astellas exercises all of its license options and achieves all milestones for all projects, Cullgen's total compensation will exceed $1.9 billion. Cullgen is also eligible to receive royalties from Astellas on any potential commercial sales.

Astellas is committed to developing protein degraders. ASP3082, a First-in-class selective KRAS G12D degrader in the company’s pipeline, is currently in Phase I clinical trials in the United States, primarily targeting the treatment of pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer with KRAS G12D mutations.

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