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Proxygen

A molecular glue degrader discovery and development company focused on targeting previously undruggable disease-driving proteins through its induced proximity platform, spun out of CeMM in Vienna.

Company Overview

A molecular glue degrader discovery and development company focused on targeting previously undruggable disease-driving proteins through its induced proximity platform, spun out of CeMM in Vienna. Proxygen has established major pharmaceutical partnerships valued at over $2.55 billion with Merck & Co. alone, positioning it as a leader in the molecular glue degrader space. The company is expanding its platform beyond degradation into broader induced proximity applications.

Headquarters and Global Presence

Proxygen is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, where it maintains its laboratory operations within the Vienna BioCenter ecosystem. The company employs staff locally and remotely across Europe and collaborates with global pharmaceutical partners including Merck & Co., Boehringer Ingelheim, and Merck KGaA.

Founding and History

Proxygen was founded in 2020 as a spin-out from CeMM, the Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The company was co-founded by Stefan Kubicek, Georg Winter, Matthias Brand, and Giulio Superti Furga. In its founding year, Proxygen received the Boehringer Ingelheim Innovation Prize, which provided 12 months of office and laboratory space in the Vienna BioCenter Start-Up Labs incubator along with access to BI expertise. The company rapidly secured major partnerships, establishing itself as a frontrunner in the molecular glue degrader field.

Therapy Areas and Focus

Proxygen's primary therapeutic focus is oncology, where molecular glue degraders can target cancer-driving proteins that are inaccessible to traditional small-molecule approaches. The company's platform also has emerging applications in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, with partnerships exploring targets across multiple disease areas.

Technology Platforms and Modalities

Proxygen's core platform is molecular glue degrader discovery and development, a form of targeted protein degradation that uses small molecules to redirect the cell's protein disposal machinery to eliminate disease-causing proteins. Unlike traditional PROTACs, molecular glues are smaller molecules that create new protein-protein interactions to drive degradation. The company is expanding its induced proximity platform beyond degradation mechanisms, as signaled by the appointment of CSO Chiara Conti in March 2026.

Key Pipeline and Programs

Proxygen's pipeline programs are advanced through its pharmaceutical partnerships rather than independently disclosed clinical candidates. The company's collaborations with Merck & Co., Boehringer Ingelheim, and Merck KGaA encompass multiple oncology targets where molecular glue degraders are being developed from discovery through clinical candidate selection. Specific program names and clinical phase designations have not been publicly disclosed as of March 2026.

Key Personnel

Bernd Boidol serves as Chief Executive Officer. Chiara Conti, Ph.D., was appointed Chief Scientific Officer on March 31, 2026, joining from Blueprint Medicines, where she identified four development candidates in seven years, advanced two to IND with accelerated timelines, supported two Phase I clinical programs, and established a targeted protein degradation platform.

Strategic Partnerships

Proxygen's partnership with Merck & Co. (MSD) is valued at up to $2.55 billion and includes upfront payments, R&D funding, milestone-gated development payments, and tiered royalties. The Boehringer Ingelheim collaboration, established in December 2020, focuses on molecular glue degraders against oncogenic targets. Merck KGaA has a separate research collaboration and license agreement. Proxygen also collaborates with EPFL to advance AI-driven molecular glue discovery. The company is eligible to receive up to 495 million euros across all partnerships in R&D funding, milestones, and royalty payments.

FAQ Section

Proxygen must translate its molecular glue degrader platform into clinical-stage programs while expanding beyond degradation into broader induced proximity applications, all under a partnership-driven model where major pharma controls late-stage development.

Targeted protein degradation can eliminate disease-causing proteins that lack traditional binding pockets, addressing the estimated 80% of the proteome considered undruggable by conventional small-molecule or antibody approaches.

Proxygen specializes in molecular glues rather than PROTACs, producing smaller molecules with potentially superior drug-like properties, and has secured partnerships with three major pharmaceutical companies totaling billions of dollars in potential milestone value.

Molecular glues offer advantages over larger bifunctional degraders in oral bioavailability, tissue penetration, and manufacturability, and Proxygen's platform systematically discovers these compounds rather than relying on serendipitous identification.

The pipeline is primarily focused on oncology targets identified through collaborations with Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Merck KGaA, with emerging exploration of autoimmune and inflammatory disease applications.

Proxygen is a discovery and preclinical-stage company advancing programs through its pharmaceutical partnerships, with no independently disclosed clinical-stage candidates as of March 2026.

Key watchpoints include the progression of partnered programs toward clinical candidate nomination and IND filing, the impact of new CSO Chiara Conti on expanding the platform beyond degradation, and the company's timeline for generating its own clinical-stage assets.

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