Bayer and Arvinas, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARVN), a biopharmaceutical company developing research into a new class of disease-causing protein degradation-based therapies, today announced an agreement to leverage the biotechnology of Arvinas PROTAC®, a biodegrader of proteins with the aim of researching new therapies for patients with cardiovascular, oncological and gynecological diseases.
In addition, Bayer and Arvinas will jointly launch a new company to leverage Arvinas' PROTAC® technology for agricultural applications. The combined set of deals includes more than $$110 million in cash upfront and funding for the human disease collaboration, the agricultural joint venture, and a direct equity investment by Bayer in Arvinas. Bayer's additional investment will reach a maximum of another 685 million dollars and will be diluted throughout the R&D process based on the objectives achieved (both commercial and scientific).
The multi-factor deal will extend the application of targeted protein degradation technology to new therapeutic areas and beyond human biology. It leverages Arvinas' expertise in targeted protein degradation, a field the company has led since its founding in 2013, and will add to Bayer's decades of experience developing innovative and sustainable human therapies and agricultural technologies.
“As the first company founded on targeted protein degradation, we have been excited about the potential to improve patient lives since our inception,” said John Houston, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Arvinas. “However, we have learned that the potential of this technology may be broader than drug development. Through these transactions, not only do we plan to expand our reach into new therapeutic areas, but we and Bayer expect to be the first to apply this approach to agriculture, working to safely and efficiently feed the world's growing population. It is a natural step forward in our efforts to improve human health."
“With our unique position as a leading crop science and pharmaceutical company, we see a great opportunity to partner with technology pioneer PROTAC®, to advance this technology as rapidly as possible to deliver future solutions for sustainable agriculture and of innovative medicines for patients,” said Kemal Malik, member of Bayer's Innovation Council. (from the Arvinas press release)
After the purchase of Monsanto in 2018, Bayer began a very painstaking corporate restructuring, starting with personnel cuts. The reorganization of the business units is also part of the "Bayer 2.0" strategy. Specifically, the German giant increasingly wants to focus on pharmaceuticals and therefore the decisions concerning future agreements also focus in that direction. Arvinas, in this case, is the case for Bayer. The US company is working on new protein-based therapies. (from Aboutpharma)
Note: PROTAC it is a two-headed molecule capable of removing specific unwanted proteins. Rather than acting like a conventional enzyme inhibitor, a PROTAC works by inducing selective intracellular proteolysis. PROTACs consist of two covalently linked protein-binding molecules: one capable of engaging an E3 ubiquitin ligase, and another that binds to a target protein destined for degradation. The recruitment of E3 ligase to the target protein results in the ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of the target protein by the proteasome.
