Protein Degraders Could Change Disease Treatment

Drugmakers are betting big that a new way of trashing bad proteins inside cells could reshape treatment for cancer and other diseases. The "protein degrader" drugs don't just block troublesome proteins, the Wall Street Journal reports; they tag them for destruction using the cell's own waste-disposal system, potentially reaching targets that have long eluded conventional medicines.

The FDA has cleared a few of these drugs, including Pfizer's breast-cancer therapy Veppanu and Bristol Myers Squibb's multiple myeloma drug Zenbexus, even as questions remain about how broadly they work and whether they might also knock out healthy proteins. Roughly 200 degraders are now in development worldwide, with more than $5 billion in deals reached since 2021, as companies test them in cancers, autoimmune diseases, and conditions including Parkinson's.