Molecular glues were discovered by nature.
Some plant hormones and antibiotics
work by sticking proteins together
and act as molecular glues.
We actually feel that this
is something that in nature
is exploited a lot.
A molecular glue
is a small molecule
that sticks proteins together.
It can stick a protein to
itself, or to another protein.
A lot of biology is mediated
by which proteins
touch each other.
Within a cell,
the proteins are constantly
bumping into each other.
And this is important.
This is the way that
the cell functions,
and they transfer information.
But some of these can be
dysfunctional interactions
leading to diseases
such as cancer.
The power of molecular glues
is that they can induce
new protein-protein
interactions in the cell,
and they can change the
biology of the cell.
They really represent
a new type of medicine.
We need new medicines, as
there are still many diseases
that we cannot treat with
conventional therapeutics.
At Novartis, we're building an
approach and an understanding
of how to
systematically identify
and develop molecular glues
to progress them
into therapeutics.
