BioCentury
ARTICLE | Deals

Oct. 4 Quick Takes: BMS taps SyntheX for molecular glue pact

Plus Flagship’s Cellarity raises $121M series C and updates for Inhibrx, Autolus, Vir, Ginkgo and more 

October 5, 2022 1:38 AM UTC

In the latest deal in the rapidly evolving protein degradation area, Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) will tap the ToRNeDO platform of San Francisco-based SyntheX Inc. to discover and develop molecular glue therapeutics using E3 ligases and undisclosed new substrates. The biotech received a combined upfront cash payment and investment of undisclosed size and is eligible for $550 million in milestones, plus royalties. ToRNeDO platform is capable of intracellular drug selection as opposed to in vitro screening. In addition to BMS, SyntheX investors include SOSV, Oriza Ventures, OMX Ventures, Morgan Noble Healthcare Partners and 8VC.

Following a $123 million series B round last February, the new $121 million in series C financing brings the company’s total raised to $274 million since it emerged from Flagship Pioneering in 2019. In addition to Flagship, Cellarity Inc. said other series B investors participated in the latest financing round, though it did not disclose which, and named two of its four new investors – Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd. and Hanwha Impact Partners. The company is focused on using machine learning analyses of single-cell data to generate molecular network maps; it identifies compounds that prevent or reverse disease progression, and then works backwards to characterize pathways targeted by the compound...