Bayer and Arvinas to Collaborate on Human PROTAC Therapies and Launch a Separate Joint Venture to Develop Agricultural PROTAC Applications

Bayer and Arvinas, a biopharmaceutical company creating a new class of therapies to degrade disease-causing proteins, announced an agreement to leverage Arvinas’ novel PROTAC protein degrader technology to develop new human therapeutics for patients with cardiovascular, oncological, and gynecological diseases. In addition, Bayer and Arvinas will jointly launch a new company to leverage Arvinas’ PROTAC technology for agricultural applications. The overall series of arrangements includes over $110 million in upfront cash and committed funding for the human disease collaboration, the agricultural joint venture, and a direct equity investment by Bayer in Arvinas.

The multi-faceted deal will extend the application of targeted protein degradation to new therapeutic areas and outside human biology. It leverages Arvinas’ expertise in targeted protein degradation, a field the company has led since its founding in 2013, and Bayer’s decades of experience in developing both human therapies and innovative, sustainable agricultural technologies.

“As the first company founded around targeted protein degradation, we’ve been excited about the potential to improve the lives of patients since our inception,” said John Houston, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Arvinas. “However, we’ve known that the potential of this technology could be broader than drug development. Through these transactions, not only do we plan to expand our reach into new therapeutic areas, but we and Bayer expect to be the first to apply this approach to agriculture, working to safely and efficiently feed the world’s growing population. It’s a natural next step in our commitment to improving human health.”

“With our unique position as a leading company in both Crop Science and Pharmaceuticals, we see a great opportunity to partner with the pioneer of the PROTAC technology, to advance this technology as quickly as possible to deliver future solutions for sustainable agriculture and innovative medicines for patients,” said Kemal Malik, Bayer Board member for Innovation.