Symeres and Ambagon Therapeutics are collaborating to evaluate molecular glues for colorectal cancer using preclinical assays and protein interaction studies.

Symeres and Ambagon Therapeutics have entered a research collaboration focused on developing and characterising molecular glues for potential use in colorectal cancer and other difficult-to-treat diseases.

Molecular glues are a class of small molecules designed to stabilise or induce interactions between proteins, offering a way to influence biological pathways that are often considered difficult to target with conventional small-molecule inhibitors. The approach is being explored as a potential route to expand the range of druggable proteins and better control disease-related signalling mechanisms.

Under the collaboration, Symeres will evaluate Ambagon’s molecular glue compounds through a series of in vitro and mechanistic studies aimed at understanding how the molecules behave in biological systems. A key part of the work will focus on ternary complex formation and kinetics using surface plasmon resonance, supported by Symeres’ ResidenceTimer platform.

The programme will also include cellular assays designed to assess functional effects on disease-relevant pathways. These include fluorescence microscopy studies to monitor inhibition of target protein nuclear translocation, alongside downstream pathway analysis using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot techniques. Cancer cell viability assays will be used to evaluate potential anti-proliferative effects.

Beyond functional readouts, Symeres will apply broader cancer profiling tools, including screening across its panel of 102 cancer cell lines, to help assess compound activity across different tumour contexts. This is intended to support a clearer understanding of how the molecular glue candidates behave across biologically diverse models.

“Targeting previously undruggable proteins remains one of the key challenges in oncology drug discovery,” said Jorg Benningshof, managing director, Oncolines, a Symeres company. “By combining Ambagon’s molecular glue technology with our translational research capabilities, we aim to generate meaningful insights to accelerate preclinical development across a variety of therapeutic conditions.”

From Ambagon’s perspective, the collaboration is intended to strengthen mechanistic understanding of its pipeline compounds in disease-relevant settings.

Christian Ottmann, co-founder and CSO Ambagon Therapeutics, said: “This collaboration enables us to deepen our understanding of how molecular glues can modulate disease-relevant pathways in colorectal cancer. Working with Symeres provides access to robust validation platforms that are critical for progressing our pipeline.”

The partnership reflects continued interest in molecular glue strategies across oncology research, particularly for targets that have been historically difficult to address using traditional drug discovery approaches. By focusing on protein interaction modulation rather than direct inhibition, the approach aims to open up additional biological routes for therapeutic intervention.

As preclinical work progresses, the collaboration will generate data intended to inform whether these molecular glue candidates can be advanced further along the drug development pathway.