C4 Therapeutics will enter into a strategic collaboration with Roche to develop novel treatments in the field of targeted protein degradation (TPD) using C4’s Degronimid technology. C4’s Degronimids represent a new class of small molecules, TPD therapeutics, which target disease-causing proteins and facilitate their rapid destruction and clearance from the cell through the ubiquitin/proteasome system (UPS).
C4 will initially develop TPD therapeutics that utilize Degronimid technology for a specific set of target proteins. After successful completion of a defined preclinical development phase, Roche has the option to pursue further preclinical development and commercialization. C4 will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and additional development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments per target, as well as sales milestone payments and potential tiered royalties on sales of products resulting from the agreement. The potential value of the deal over time is greater than $750 million.
C4's Degronimid technology platform was pioneered in 2010 by researchers in the Bradner Laboratory at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and is exclusively licensed to C4 Therapeutics from Dana-Farber. Degronimids link drug-like small molecules to the cellular ubiquitin/proteasome system to naturally eliminate targeted proteins by tagging them with ubiquitin for destruction by the proteasome. Degronimids are capable of hitting many more targets than protein inhibitors or peptide-based approaches, and are active against previously undruggable targets, while also reducing potential for drug resistance. This paradigm shift in drug development is applicable to a broad range of diseases.
C4 Therapeutics recently announced that it was launched from Dana-Farber with the closing of a $73 million series A financing to translate the breakthrough Degronimid technology into a new class of therapeutics that target proteins for degradation. The company’s scientific cofounders include Ken Anderson, M.D., and Nathanael Gray, Ph.D., both from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and James “Jay” E. Bradner, M.D., a former investigator at Dana-Farber.
