Beyond Cereblon: Expanding The E3 Ligase Universe

Maria Soloveychik says her company was founded to tackle challenging targets using proximity-based modalities, beginning with PPI disruption before expanding into novel small-molecule molecular glue degraders. A major focus now is moving beyond cereblon and VHL by deterministically identifying new E3 ligases and pairing them with appropriate targets based on tissue expression, cellular localization, and natural complementarity with potential neosubstrates. She emphasizes that much of the work still involves basic science, and that academic discoveries remain important for helping drug developers design better molecules in this emerging field.