U.K. biopharma company PhoreMost Ltd. has entered into a multi-target collaboration with Arvinas, a company active in targeted protein degradation (TPD).
Under the terms of the agreement, PhoreMost will receive research funding and will be eligible for pre-clinical, clinical, and commercial milestones.
PhoreMost will deploy its phenotypic screening platform, SITESEEKER, toward multiple high-value therapeutic targets. The output from SITESEEKER screening campaigns will be used to drive degrader drug discovery in oncology and neurodegeneration using Arvinas’ PROTAC discovery engine platform.
Protein interference
The SITESEEKER platform is based on PhoreMost’s ‘protein interference’ (PROTEINi) technology. PhoreMost probes the entire proteome in a live cell environment for novel druggable targets linked to any chosen disease, using the shape diversity of miniprotein libraries. SITESEEKER systematically unmasks new and unanticipated druggable sites across the entire human proteome, directly linking them to useful therapeutic functions.
Neil Torbett, CEO of PhoreMost, said: “This is another exciting collaboration for our team, and we are delighted to be working together with the leaders in the targeted protein degradation space. For Arvinas to recognise the potential of SITESEEKER to help deliver significant therapeutic breakthroughs is further testament to the progress we have made in developing our platform.”
Angela Cacace, senior vice president of neuroscience and platform biology at Arvinas, said: “Identifying new protein binders is imperative for Arvinas as we expand the capabilities of our PROTAC platform. We are excited to begin this collaboration to leverage PhoreMost’s phenotypic screening platform and to make continued progress towards degrading undrugged targets across multiple complex diseases.”
Partnering 2030: The Biotech Perspective 2023
