Novel PROTACs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology have developed a novel class of molecules that act as bifunctional protein targeting chimeras (PROTACs), especially for degradation of B lymphoid kinase (BLK)/Bruton ́s tyrosine kinase (BTK). BTK plays a crucial role in B cell activation and differentiation, which, in turn, mediates the activation of other immune cells such as T cells and myeloid cells, contributing to autoimmune disease pathology.

These inhibitors are characterized by an arylidene-indolinone structure and exhibit a good protein degradation activity for BTK and BLK proteins.

By facilitating the degradation of BLK and BTK, these compounds hold great promise for the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis and SLE.

Priority Patent Application filed in March 2023.

We are open to research partnerships and license agreements to accelerate the integration of our PROTACs into the clinical practice.