Bayer and MOMA Therapeutics enter collaboration and license agreement in Oncology

Bayer and MOMA Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing a new generation of precision therapeutics, announced that they have entered into a collaboration, under an option and exclusive license agreement, to develop and commercialize a small molecule oncology program based on MOMA’s proprietary KNOMATIC platform. Under the agreement, Bayer will be responsible for completing further preclinical, development and commercial activities.

“We are excited to partner with MOMA Therapeutics to explore the untapped potential of highly dynamic proteins in oncology,” said Juergen Eckhardt, M.D., Head of Business Development and Licensing at Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division. “This collaboration reinforces Bayer’s commitment to precision medicine while enhancing our ability to address significant unmet medical needs in cancer treatment. By leveraging MOMA’s cutting-edge technologies and our expertise, we aim to accelerate the development of innovative therapies that can make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.”

Under the agreement, Bayer will gain access to the program itself along with results generated via MOMA’s KNOMATIC platform. This platform integrates deep structural insights with advanced hit-finding technologies and computation-enabled lead optimization to accelerate the discovery of therapeutics that effectively target highly dynamic proteins. Dynamic proteins represent an emerging class of therapeutic targets that can play critical roles in disease progression. Targeting these proteins via a small molecule approach offers a largely untapped means of developing innovative cancer therapies.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Bayer to drug this disease-relevant target,” said Asit Parikh, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of MOMA. “Following our recent announcement highlighting the advancement of our wholly owned Pol theta and Werner programs, Bayer’s interest in this collaboration further highlights the power of our KNOMATIC platform and MOMA’s openness to creating win-win partnerships.”

Under the terms of the agreement, MOMA will receive an upfront payment and collaboration fee and is eligible to receive additional payments based on the achievement of certain near-term discovery, development and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties on net sales.

Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.