Ditai Bio Inks Multi-Target Molecular Glue Platform Deal with Roche to Accelerate Novel Molecular Glue Degrader R&D | Unity Ventures Portfolio
Advancing innovative therapies to meet the urgent needs of patients with cancer and immune diseases
Unity Ventures portfolio company Dizal Biotech recently announced a multi-target collaboration and licensing agreement with Roche. The partnership will leverage Dizal's technology platform to develop novel molecular glue degraders targeting multiple targets in oncology and immunology.
Founded in 2023, Dizal discovers and develops molecular glue-based targeted protein degraders using its proprietary target-centric platform for innovative therapeutics and improved human health. The company's unique platform includes a high-throughput screening system that rapidly identifies a new class of small-molecule drugs capable of degrading important disease targets, including those previously considered undruggable.
Hangzhou Dizal Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dizal"), a company focused on molecular glue degrader drugs and committed to advancing human health, announced that it has entered into a research collaboration and licensing agreement with Roche. The partnership aims to jointly discover and develop novel molecular glue degraders (MGDs) targeting multiple targets in oncology and immunology.
Dizal will collaborate with Roche to discover molecular glue degraders against specific therapeutic targets using its proprietary platform. Once projects reach designated development stages, they will be transferred to Roche for subsequent preclinical and clinical development, with Roche holding exclusive global commercialization rights.
Dizal's platform is a high-throughput degrader screening system combining high precision and efficiency, applicable to various types of target proteins including cytosolic, nuclear, transmembrane, and viral proteins. Currently, Dizal has established degrader screening cell lines targeting more than 100 clinically relevant targets, covering numerous traditionally "undruggable" proteins across multiple therapeutic areas. Additionally, the company has built a focused compound library targeting multiple E3 ligases to facilitate the discovery of novel molecular glue degraders (MGDs).
"We are very pleased to collaborate with Roche to advance the discovery and development of novel molecular glue degraders using our platform," said Dr. Huanwei Ru, Chief Operating Officer of Dizal. "The platform enables large-scale parallel screening across dozens of targets, significantly accelerating the MGD discovery process."
"We look forward to working with Dizal to advance innovative therapies that address the urgent unmet needs of patients with cancer and immunological diseases," said Boris L. Zaïtra, Head of Global Business Development at Roche. "Targeted protein degradation, particularly molecular glue degraders, represents a potentially transformative therapeutic approach against previously 'undruggable' disease-causing targets."
Under the terms of the agreement, Dizal will receive an upfront payment and may be eligible for subsequent milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on potential net sales of products resulting from the collaboration. Additionally, Roche has an option to expand the collaboration to include additional targets.
