The molecular glue wave that first began years ago is still swelling, with Eli Lilly earmarking approximately $1.25 billion to develop new versions of the sticky molecules in collaboration with Magnet Biomedicine.
Under the terms of the agreement, Magnet will receive up to $40 million in upfront, near-term payments and an equity investment, the partners announced in a Feb. 28 release. In total, the Boston-based precision medicine firm can potentially earn more than $1.25 billion, including tiered royalties and milestone payments if certain development, regulatory and commercial goals are met through the collaboration.
Focusing on oncology applications, the team will use Magnet’s platform—called TrueGlue—to discover new molecular glues for development and potential commercialization.
"This collaboration supports our differentiated approach and efforts to reimagine what’s achievable through the next generation of molecular glues to drive breakthrough therapies,” Magnet CEO Brian Safina, Ph.D., said in the release. "Lilly’s commitment to innovation and deep expertise in bringing transformative medicines to patients make it an ideal partner for Magnet as we harness the untapped potential of molecular glues.”
Magnet identifies molecular glues by screening a proprietary chemical library, according to the release. These molecules bring targeted proteins together and induce them to interact, most commonly as a way to condemn disease-causing proteins to destruction by way of protein degradation machinery in cells.
Lilly inked a deal in 2021 with exactly that protein-destroying goal in mind, promising potentially more than $1.6 billion to Lycia Therapeutics to find molecular glues for difficult targets in immunology and pain. That deal followed earlier interest in molecular glues by the Big Pharma, including a research collaboration with BeyondSpring subsidiary Seed Therapeutics and an investment in protein degrader Kymera Therapeutics.
Other pharmas have also put big money into the glue game. In 2024, Eisai signed its own Seed pact worth up to $1.5 billion to go after neurodegeneration and oncology targets.
And, just last month, AbbVie offered up to $1.64 billion to Big Pharma darling Neomorph, a molecular glue specialist that has also signed billion-dollar pacts with Biogen and Novo Nordisk.
Magnet emerged in 2023 with a $50 million series A backed by Newpath Partners and Arch Venture Partners. It counts Nobel Prize winner Michael Rosbash, Ph.D., as one of its founders.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the total potential value of the deal. The story was updated at 11:45 a.m. ET to reflect the correct value.