Monte Rosa And Novartis Sign $5.7B Degrader Collaboration In Immune-Mediated Disease Drug Development

Monte Rosa Therapeutics, Inc., has entered a new collaboration with Novartis to develop novel molecular glue degraders (MGDs) for immune-mediated diseases. This marks the second agreement between the two companies, following their 2024 global licensing deal for Monte Rosa’s VAV1 degraders, including MRT-6160. 

“We are extremely excited to extend our relationship with Novartis beyond our previously announced VAV1 agreement, given the strong progress made to advance MRT-6160 toward initiation of multiple Phase 2 studies in immune-mediated diseases. We believe this new agreement further strengthens our relationship with Novartis, a recognized global leader in immune-mediated diseases, and reflects the expansive opportunity in the space for our highly selective and potent MGDs. Our AI/ML-enabled QuEEN™ product engine continues to generate new insights and opportunities, delivering an expanding pipeline of programs directed against a breadth of historically undruggable immunology targets. This new collaboration allows us to expedite the development of certain of those programs with Novartis, leveraging their recognised development and commercialisation capabilities. The agreement further strengthens our financial position, which allows us to progress our wholly owned programs, including multiple undisclosed targets in Th1, Th2, and Th17-driven autoimmune conditions, and provides runway beyond multiple anticipated Phase 2 readouts for MRT-8102, MRT-6160, and MRT-2359,” said Markus Warmuth, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Monte Rosa Therapeutics. 

The collaboration leverages Monte Rosa’s AI/ML-enabled QuEEN™ discovery engine to identify and advance degraders targeting difficult-to-drug proteins implicated in immune disorders. Under the terms, Novartis will further develop and commercialise candidates arising from the partnership, while Monte Rosa will receive an upfront payment of $120 million plus additional option maintenance fees. The deal carries a potential value of up to $5.7 billion, including preclinical, regulatory, development, and sales milestones, alongside tiered royalties in the high single to low double digits.

“We are pleased 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 as a promising approach to address immune-mediated diseases with high unmet need. We believe Monte Rosa’s 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,” said Fiona Marshall, Ph.D., President of Biomedical Research at Novartis. 

Monte Rosa emphasised that its currently disclosed pipeline programs remain outside the scope of this agreement. The company expects to update investors on its cash position and extended financial runway during its Q3 2025 earnings call. Lazard served as Monte Rosa’s exclusive financial advisor for the transaction.