Novartis Strikes Billion-Dollar Deal with Monte Rosa Therapeutics

By Bobby Samwell • Monday, October 28 10:17 • Permanent Link

Monte Rosa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUE) has entered into a global exclusive development and commercialization license agreement with Novartis to advance Vav1 Molecular Glue Degraders (MGDs), including MRT-6160. Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize MRT-6160 and other Vav1 MGDs. This includes responsibility for all clinical development and commercialization, starting with Phase 2 clinical studies. However, Monte Rosa remains responsible for completing the ongoing Phase 1 clinical study of MRT-6160.

In the agreement, Novartis has agreed to pay Monte Rosa an up-front payment of $150 million. Additionally, Monte Rosa is eligible to receive up to $2.1 billion in development, regulatory, and sales milestones, beginning upon initiation of Phase 2 studies. Furthermore, Monte Rosa will receive tiered royalties on ex-U.S. net sales and will co-fund any Phase 3 clinical development.

MRT-6160 is a potent, highly selective, and orally bioavailable investigational degrader of Vav1, a key signaling protein downstream of both the T* and B-cell receptors. Preclinical studies have shown that MRT-6160 has promising activity in preclinical models of multiple immune-mediated conditions.

This agreement is expected to accelerate and broaden the scope of clinical development of MRT-6160 while providing financial resources to extend Monte Rosa's operational runway. It also validates Monte Rosa's unique and industry-leading Queen™ discovery engine, which combines AI-guided chemistry, diverse chemical libraries, structural biology, and proteomics to identify degradable protein targets and rationally design MGDs with unprecedented selectivity.

Monte Rosa plans to provide further information regarding its updated cash position and runway in its third quarter 2024 earnings update. The market has reacted to these announcements by moving the company's shares 68.5% to a price of $8.24. If you want to know more, read the company's complete 8-K report here.

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