Novartis Strikes $5.7 Billion Deal with Monte Rosa Therapeutics to Advance Novel Molecular Glue Degraders for Immune-Mediated Diseases

September 15,Boston, Massachusetts, clinical biotechnology developing novel molecular glue degrader (MGD) drugsCompanyMonte Rosa Therapeutics（Nasdaq:GLUE) announced a collaboration with Novartis to develop novel degraders for immune-mediated diseases. In addition to the VAV1 degrader from Monte Rosa announced in October 2024 (Including the global exclusive license agreement for MRT-6160), this collaboration isMonte RosaThe Second Collaboration with NovartisAgreement.($2.25 Billion! Novartis Acquires a VAV1-Targeted Molecular Glue Degrader；Over $2 billion! Roche collaborates to develop novel molecular glue degraders）

The agreement announced this time was jointly developed by the two companies, aiming to accelerate the development of degraders driven by highly validated and difficult-to-drug targets for important immune-mediated diseases. According to the agreement, scientists from Monte Rosa Therapeutics will apply their proprietary AI/ML-supported QuEEN™ product engine to discover and develop degraders, which will be further developed and commercialized by Novartis.

Details of the Agreement and Financial Terms

According to the terms of the agreement, Monte Rosa will receive$120 million upfront paymentMonte Rosa will also receive payments for maintaining the option. In terms of the total transaction value, Monte Rosa is eligible to receiveUp to $5.7 billion in funding, including upfront payment, option maintenance, preclinical milestones, option exercise, as well as development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments across projects, and tiered royalties on global net sales ranging from high to low double digits.The pipeline projects publicly disclosed by Monte Rosa are not within the scope of this agreement.

Markus Warmuth, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Monte Rosa Therapeutics, said:"Given the significant progress made in advancing multiple Phase 2 studies for MRT-6160 in immune-mediated diseases, we are very pleased to expand our relationship with Novartis beyond our previously announced VAV1 agreement. We believe this new agreement further strengthens our partnership with Novartis, a recognized global leader in immune-mediated diseases, reflecting the broad opportunities for our highly selective and potent MGDs in this field. Our AI/ML-supported QuEEN™ product engine continues to generate new insights and opportunities, providing an expanding pipeline of programs targeting a range of historically undruggable immunology targets. This new collaboration allows us to leverage Novartis' proven development and commercialization capabilities to accelerate the development of some of these programs. The agreement further strengthens our financial position, enabling us to advance our wholly-owned programs, including multiple undisclosed targets in Th1, Th2, and Th17-driven autoimmune diseases, and provides additional upside beyond multiple expectations."For MRT-8102, MRT-6160, and MRT-2359"The runway for the Phase 2 clinical readout."

Fiona Marshall, Ph.D., President of Novartis Biomedical Research and Development, stated:"We are delighted to expand our collaboration with Monte Rosa Therapeutics, building on the strong foundation and progress established through the VAV1 program. This new agreement underscores our commitment to advancing targeted protein degradation, a promising approach to addressing immune-mediated diseases with high unmet needs. We believeMonte RosaThe QuEEN™ platform has the potential to uncover new insights in this field. We look forward to working together to translate these insights into transformative therapies for patients."

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