What do you get when you insert a molecular glue degrader into an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)? Fortitude Biomedicines is in the process of finding out.
The Waltham, Massachusetts-based biotech is launching with $13 million in seed funds, which are earmarked for the company’s lead preclinical immune cell targeting biologic program. Cash will also be used for GLUE-DAC, a drug discovery engine designed to attach molecular glue degraders as the payload in ADCs.
K2 Bio Partners and Shanghai Healthcare Angel Capital co-led the seed financing, while Elikon Venture, Everjoy Fortune and Taihill Venture also joined.
GLUE-DAC’s origins can be traced back to the Baylor College of Medicine lab of Jin Wang, Ph.D., where he directs the center for next-gen therapeutics. The concept is to “integrate the precision targeting of ADCs with the catalytic power of targeted protein degradation,” Fortitude explained in a Jan. 26 release.
Wang founded Fortitude alongside entrepreneur Jesse Chen, Ph.D., who has previously co-founded both Triana Biomedicines and Avilar Therapeutics.
“Fortitude is at the forefront of a new era in therapeutic innovation,” said Chen, who serves as the biotech’s CEO. “With proprietary antibody-based technology, we are unlocking the ability to precisely target diseases while engaging the body’s own biology in powerful, transformative ways.”
While ADCs like Enhertu are now a key part of the cancer treatment portfolio—and new options continue to attract Big Pharma buyers—the emergence of drug resistance has limited the efficacy of this modality.
Fortitude’s hope is that GLUE-DAC can meet this challenge by combining the validated delivery capabilities of antibodies with what Wang described as the “transformative potential of targeted protein degradation.”
“GLUE-DAC has the potential to expand the therapeutic window of ADCs, overcome resistance mechanisms and unlock new therapeutic targets,” the company explained in this morning’s release.
Molecular glue tech—including targeted protein degraders—has been behind a wave of recent pharma dealmaking. Last year alone saw Novartis return to Monte Rosa Therapeutics, while Eli Lilly handed Magnet Biomedicine $40 million in upfront, near-term payments and an equity investment, and Gilead Sciences committed $85 for a chance to license a CDK2-directed molecular glue degrader from Kymera Therapeutics.