Dong-A ST announced on the 16th that it has signed a joint research agreement with Cyrus Therapeutics, a domestic biotech company developing anticancer drugs, to develop treatments for immune and inflammatory diseases.

Under the agreement, Cyrus Therapeutics will utilize its independently established Molecular Glue Library and Molecular Glue screening system to discover candidate substances targeting immune and inflammatory diseases. Dong-A ST will pursue joint research on the discovered candidate substances.

The field of immune and inflammatory diseases is classified as an area with significant unmet needs despite the emergence of blockbuster antibody therapies and JAK (Janus kinase) inhibitors. This is because many patients do not respond to existing treatments or the therapeutic effects are limited. Long-term use also raises ongoing safety concerns such as infections and cardiovascular abnormalities.

Molecular glue degraders based on protein degradation technology are gaining attention as an alternative to overcome these limitations. Molecular glue degraders have a mechanism that induces selective degradation of proteins by linking disease-related target proteins with the cell's cleaning mechanism (Ubiquitin-proteasome system). They are characterized by removing the protein itself, beyond merely inhibiting protein activity. They enhance target accessibility that existing drugs could not reach, maintain long-term effects with small doses, and have advantages in multi-pathway regulation and safety improvement.

According to the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization, the global immunotherapy market is expected to grow from approximately USD 260 billion (about KRW 360 trillion) in 2023 to approximately USD 580 billion (about KRW 801 trillion) by 2029.

Cyrus Therapeutics is a biotech specializing in small molecule drug development, established in 2019 by personnel from large domestic and international pharmaceutical companies. It is gaining attention not only in traditional inhibitor drugs but also in the targeted protein degradation (TPD) field. Recently, it obtained approval for a Phase 1 clinical trial from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) for the molecular glue degrader CYRS1542, which degrades the anticancer target GSPT1.

Byungmoon Kim, CEO of Cyrus Therapeutics, stated, “The field of immune and inflammatory diseases has significant variability in patient responses and clear limitations of existing treatments, but molecular glue degraders can open new targets and provide deeper and more sustained therapeutic effects as a next-generation option. We will strive to achieve rapid results by actively utilizing the strengths of both companies through joint research.”

Mikyung Kim, Head of Research at Dong-A ST, said, “This joint research agreement is significant in strengthening Dong-A ST's core therapeutic area of immune and inflammatory pipelines and accelerating the modality expansion strategy beyond traditional small molecule compound-centered drug development to targeted protein degraders (TPD), biopharmaceuticals, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), and gene therapies. We will do our best to derive best-in-class targeted protein degraders in the field of immune and inflammatory diseases by consolidating our capabilities.”

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