Targeting well validated, yet undrugged or poorly drugged, pathogenic proteins
We are developing ATACs to degrade pathogenic extracellular proteins that are well validated yet previously undruggable or poorly addressed using current drug modalities. Extracellular proteins may be implicated in disease pathogenesis in many different ways. Some proteins may become overexpressed, while others exist in aberrant forms or complexes. Proteins can also disrupt the normal regulatory control of other proteins, while proteins in the form of autoantibodies attack receptors involved in normal signaling processes.
ATACs offer a novel approach to targeting pathogenic extracellular proteins
We are leveraging the power of ATACs to overcome limitations of existing modalities. Potential novel applications of ATACs include:
Drug previously intractable targets by leveraging ligands that simply bind to proteins of interest without the requirement for functional activity
Degrade very large amounts of protein to treat diseases caused by abnormally high levels of a protein that are beyond the reach of existing drug modalities
Selectively degrade certain protein types or subtypes that drive disease, while leaving other closely related but non-pathogenic proteins unaffected
Deliver rapid onset of action by rapidly degrading pathogenic proteins and providing significantly faster clinical benefit to patients
Remove pathogenic protein complexes by degrading the complexes themselves or their component elements
Create oral degraders of proteins currently only addressed by injectable biologics by leveraging novel small molecule, high affinity ASGPR ligands
Developing our first wave of ATACs as treatments for autoimmune, neurological, and other diseases
Avilar is advancing multiple first-in-class extracellular degrader pipeline programs. In addition, the universe of extracellular targets creates opportunities for collaborations that leverage our ATAC platform to degrade targets of interest to potential partners.