Monte Rosa & Novartis Collaborate On Immune Therapies, Exclusive Licensing Agreement Advances MRT-6160
Monte Rosa partners with Novartis to develop MRT-6160 for immune conditions, with $150M upfront.
Breaking News
Oct 29, 2024
Simantini Singh Deo
Monte Rosa Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing molecular glue degrader (MGD)-based therapies, announced an exclusive agreement with Novartis to develop and commercialize VAV1 MGDs globally, including their lead candidate MRT-6160. MRT-6160 is undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials with single and multiple ascending dose studies in healthy volunteers, targeting immune-mediated conditions. Under the agreement, Novartis gains worldwide rights to advance, produce, and market MRT-6160 and other VAV1-targeting MGDs, beginning with Phase 2 clinical trials. Monte Rosa will be in charge of completing the ongoing Phase 1 study of MRT-6160.
Markus Warmuth, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Monte Rosa Therapeutics, stated, “We are thrilled to announce this agreement with Novartis, a key player in immune-mediated conditions, and we are excited about the transformative potential it provides for Monte Rosa and MRT-6160. We expect this will accelerate and broaden the scope of clinical development of MRT-6160 to advance this unique, orally bioavailable modality while retaining substantial value for Monte Rosa.”
He further added, “We believe the transaction validates our unique and industry-leading QuEEN™ discovery engine, and it further increases our conviction to rationally design and develop highly selective and safe MGDs for undruggable targets, including in the areas of immunology and inflammation, metabolism, and genetic diseases. The financial resources provided by this agreement are expected to extend our operational runway, enable us to advance our pipeline to potential value-creating milestones and anticipated proof-of-concept readouts, and further leverage our QuEEN™ discovery engine.”
This experimental drug is a highly selective, orally bioavailable degrader of VAV1, a signaling protein involved in the function of both T and B-cells. MRT-6160 has been shown to significantly reduce VAV1 levels in preclinical models, resulting in the greatly decreased production of cytokines involved in immunologically mediated diseases with minimal interference with other proteins. The results of MRT-6160 so far have been impressive, indicating a great potential in several immune-related conditions, including the preclinical models.
"Novartis has had a long-standing interest in molecular glue degraders, which offer the potential to tackle challenging biological targets. We are excited about their application in immunology and the early progress we have seen by Monte Rosa in this space and with MRT-6160,” said Fiona Marshall, President of Biomedical Research at Novartis.
She also mentioned, “We look forward to advancing MRT-6160 and learning more about its potential to provide a new therapeutic option for people living with a range of immune-mediated conditions. Novartis is committed to bringing forward new therapeutic options for these patients, and we are happy to be working with Monte Rosa to harness the potential of this approach to address unmet medical needs.”
Under the provisions of the arrangement, Novartis has consented to pay Monte Rosa $150 million. Monte Rosa is qualified to get up to $2.1 billion in development, sales and regulatory sectors, starting upon commencement of Phase 2 studies, as well as layered sovereignties on ex-U.S. net sales. Monte Rosa will jointly finance any Phase 3 clinical development events and share any benefits and drawbacks related to the production and commercialization of MRT-6160 in the U.S.