Monte Rosa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLUE), a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced the presentation of preclinical data for MRT-6160, a molecular glue degrader (MGD) targeting VAV1, at the ACR Convergence 2025 conference taking place in Chicago from October 24-29.
Dr. Sharon Townson, Chief Scientific Officer of Monte Rosa Therapeutics, stated that MRT-6160 demonstrated significant effectiveness in a preclinical model of autoimmune disease. The model exhibited chronic inflammation, autoantibody production, and multi-organ involvement. Treatment with MRT-6160 led to a reduction in various disease markers, including decreased levels of autoantibodies and improvement in skin and kidney conditions.
Dr. Townson emphasized, “These findings bolster the potential of MRT-6160 across a range of immune-mediated diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren”s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. The data also underscore the ability of MGDs to effectively degrade proteins that have been considered “undruggable”, offering a new approach to treating these conditions with an orally administered therapy that inhibits multiple pathogenic cytokines and autoantibodies.”
The poster presentation titled “MRT-6160, a VAV1-directed molecular glue degrader, attenuates T and B cell effector functions and inhibits disease progression in a spontaneous autoimmune MRL-Faslpr mouse model” will occur on October 26 from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM CDT in Poster Session A.
Key findings from the study include:
- MRT-6160 effectively degraded VAV1 and reduced T and B cell effector functions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from healthy individuals and those with rheumatic diseases.
- In vitro studies showed that MRT-6160 diminished T follicular helper cell-mediated B cell activation and immunoglobulin production.
- In the MRL-Faslpr mouse model, oral administration of MRT-6160 resulted in reduced proteinuria, lymphadenopathy, skin lesions, autoantibody levels, organ enlargement, and kidney inflammation, outperforming treatments like prednisone and anti-CD40L monoclonal antibodies.
MRT-6160 is recognized as a first-in-class investigational agent, demonstrating high selectivity and oral bioavailability. In clinical trials, it has shown sustained degradation of VAV1 in T and B cells from healthy subjects, alongside a substantial reduction in inflammatory cytokine secretion following ex vivo stimulation.
In collaboration with Novartis, which holds exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize MRT-6160, Monte Rosa Therapeutics stands to gain up to $2.1 billion in milestones related to development and sales, beginning with the initiation of Phase 2 studies. Monte Rosa will also co-invest in any Phase 3 clinical development.
Monte Rosa Therapeutics specializes in creating highly selective MGDs aimed at treating severe diseases across various categories, including oncology and inflammatory disorders. Their innovative QuEENTM discovery platform integrates AI-driven chemistry and diverse chemical libraries to design MGDs with extraordinary selectivity.
This preclinical data presentation at ACR Convergence 2025 highlights the potential of MRT-6160 to significantly impact the treatment landscape for autoimmune diseases, where current options are often limited.
