TORPEDO^® Platform

Our scientific platform, which we call TORPEDO^® (Target Oriented Protein Degrader Optimizer), is an important piece of our leading approach to targeted protein degradation (TPD). Through our TORPEDO^® platform, we can uniquely design both molecular glues, which we call MonoDAC™ degraders, and heterobifunctional degraders, which we call BiDAC™ degraders. This industry-leading capability means we have the capability to target almost any disease-causing protein.

Our TORPEDO^® platform is a collection of experimental approaches and tools that gives us the ability to design, analyze and predict degrader performance. We have made a significant investment in building both computational methods and experimental methods to enhance our ability to rationally design degraders. These computer-based tools allow us to design degraders at the molecular level to have enhanced potency and selectivity.

Across our pipeline and in each of our discovery projects, we use cell-based assays that measure degradation of disease-causing targets to assess individual degrader performance. These data are analyzed using a proprietary and unique framework that provides measurements of catalytic efficiency to answer two key questions that are important in the iterative design-make-test cycles: 1) How fast does the degrader remove the target protein in the cell? and 2) How much target protein remains after cells are treated with the degrader? This catalytic efficiency information is important not just in designing new degraders to test, but also in predicting depth and duration of disease target removal in animal models of disease.

Taken together, our TORPEDO^® platform allows us to rapidly iterate and improve on degrader candidates and design our degraders specifically for properties that enhance catalytic degradation turnover and drug performance that directly impact disease.