On May 21, 2025 Orionis Biosciences, a privately held, clinical-stage life sciences company focused on the rational discovery and development of drug modalities with induced proximity mode of action, reported a second multi-year collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to discover small-molecule monovalent glue medicines for novel and challenging targets in oncology (Press release, Orionis Biosciences, MAY 21, 2025, View Source [SID1234653273]). Orionis announced its first collaboration with Genentech, to discover novel small-molecule medicines for challenging targets in major disease areas, including oncology and neurodegeneration, in September 2023.
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Orionis’s small-molecule Allo-Glue platform integrates multiple proprietary technologies to advance the
discovery and design of molecular glues for highly challenging disease targets. It combines advanced
chemical biology tools, engineered cellular assay systems, custom-built high-throughput robotic
automation and specialized artificial intelligence infrastructure, and enables the generation and analysis of hundreds of millions of in-cell protein interaction events. The AI-driven chemistry stack integrates
predictive modeling, generative design, and a compound interrogation engine operating across a vast
chemical space. Collectively, these capabilities accelerate the systematic discovery and simultaneous
optimization for potency, selectivity, and synthetic accessibility of monovalent molecular glue modalities.
Under the terms of the agreement, Orionis will be responsible for the discovery and optimization of
molecular glues, while Genentech will be responsible for subsequent later-stage preclinical and clinical
development, regulatory filing, and commercialization of such small molecules. Orionis will receive an
upfront payment of $105 million and is eligible for potential research, development, commercial and net
sales milestone payments, whose total could exceed $2 billion as well as potential tiered royalties upon sale of collaboration products.
"We are thrilled about this second collaboration with Genentech, which expands our collaborative efforts
in applying induced proximity concepts to include molecular glue types beyond targeted protein degraders," said Niko Kley, Co-Founder and CEO of Orionis Biosciences. "The expansion of our existing strategic alliance underlines a strong alignment in vision for molecular glues, and the excellent work by both teams during the past year".
"By integrating advanced cellular sensing technologies, large-scale robotic automation and specialized
artificial intelligence, at Orionis we have built a unique capability for discovery of new drug modalities to
rationally reprogram protein networks," said Riccardo Sabatini, Orionis Chief Data Scientist. "It’s an
exciting time in small-molecule drug development".
"Molecular glues, including protein degraders and non-degraders, are an exciting therapeutic modality,
providing access to disease-related proteins that have proven challenging and elusive to more traditional
treatment modalities," said Boris L. Zaïtra, Head of Roche Corporate Business Development. "This new collaboration with Orionis has the potential to significantly enhance our innovation to bring transformative cancer medicines to patients".