TernaryTx: Tackling diseases previously thought untreatable

TernaryTx has its London HQ at Angel and has also recently established its labs at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst.

The business was founded and is led by pioneers in AI-driven drug discovery and targeted protein degradation. The team boasts a track-record in the successful delivery of multiple clinical candidates across a range of diseases, advancing innovative treatments through cutting-edge technology.

TernaryTx can cite proven success in structural biology, knowledge graphs and target assessment. With numerous patents and publications in structural bioinformatics, medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, it continues to push the boundaries of scientific innovation.

The website says that the company is ‘the only molecular glue company with a focus in Immunology.’

Founder and CEO Dr. Chris Tame explains: “Even though molecular glues offer the promise of unlocking 85 per cent of disease causing proteins currently considered undruggable, almost all efforts to date have focused on oncology.

“This is because existing molecular glues are unsafe for chronic administration to patients with low tolerability to side effects. Our tech platform has been specifically built to enable safer molecular glues to be designed, allowing us to open up a wide range of disease areas to benefit from molecular glue therapeutics.

“By focusing on immunology we are playing to our strengths. Our team has an extensive track-record in immunology, delivering numerous clinical candidates and marketed drugs for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases.”

The company’s pipeline consists of novel molecular glue degraders and activators across various stages and indications.

Tame explains: “Unlike the majority of existing drugs that block a disease causing protein, molecular glues work with our natural biological processes to correct and restore healthy biology.

“Their mechanism of action allows scientists access to a wide range of biological processes that we have been unable to harness – until now.”

The TernaryTx story is one of laser focus on soundly built science and expansion and not a scattergun ‘hit and hope’ approach; this is a company where quality of science is paramount.

TernaryTx is currently a team of eight – all specialist operators spanning computational scientists, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology and in vitro biology.

Tame says: “While I am incredibly lucky to have such an experienced, close-knit team spanning the key scientific disciplines, we will be looking to carefully grow the cohort in the second half of this year in the fields of computational chemistry, pharmacology and lab biology.”

Tame believes the geographical and physical balance of the company’s facilities is ideal to underpin its growth ambitions. “Our HQ is in Angel, London, and our labs are at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, We chose the SBC due to its incredible facilities, flexibility to grow with the company, and close proximity to London.

“Having spent 10 years working at GSK Stevenage between 2007-2017, I watched the first plans of the SBC get approved and then quickly turned into reality.

“I still have a lot of friends on campus; it’s a great place to work. Being closely related to GSK has great benefits for SBC tenants – we get access to the restaurant and cafe, the fitness centre, as well as guidance and advice from GSK business development representatives.

“The SBC is like the WeWork of the scientific world, providing flexible lab and office space, from two benches up to entire floors, allowing us to stay as we grow. Being located in Stevenage also allows us to attract talent from the local area: we are only 30 minutes from Cambridge and London!”

The business is supported by two excellent venture capitalist funds, both situated at the heart of the action in Europe. Pace Ventures in Berlin and I&I BioTech Fund in Prague have excellent portfolios and cherish their investments in TernaryTx.

Pace summed up the funders’ approach in particularly complimentary fashion. It comments: “We seek out pioneering teams leveraging cutting-edge technology to create transformational change. That’s why we’re excited to invest in TernaryTx, a company redefining molecular glue discovery with its AI-powered computational platform.

“Its approach has the potential to unlock new therapeutic opportunities for diseases that were previously considered untreatable.”

• Collaborators, customers, potential staff and other interested parties can find out more about this innovative enterprise by checking out the website: ternarytx.co.uk