Grove Biopharma Reports Preclinical Study in Nature Communications Demonstrating a Novel Approach to MYC and KRAS Degradation

– Study represents a significant advancement in Grove’s Bionic Biologics platform –

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Grove Biopharma, a private biotechnology company engineering protein-like polymers (PLPs) – a new class of multifunctional biologics designed to address the most challenging intracellular drug targets – today announced the publication of preclinical results demonstrating targeted degradation of two key oncogenic drivers enabled via its Bionic Biologics platform. The peer-reviewed study, titled “Heterobifunctional proteomimetic polymers for targeted degradation of MYC and KRAS,” was published today in Nature Communications. (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-68913-3).

The collaborative work published today is aligned with Grove Biopharma’s bold mission: to develop scalable, transformative therapeutic modalities for the most intractable intracellular targets – targets long considered beyond the reach of conventional small molecules – through modular, biology-driven design. The company’s Bionic Biologics platform integrates advances in synthetic precision polymerization, cutting-edge computational and experimental protein/peptide engineering, and medicinal chemistry to create protein-scale molecules capable of targeting disease-driving proteins, including those that lack well-defined binding pockets characterized by intrinsically disordered regions.

The study demonstrates the ability of PLPs to degrade MYC – an intrinsically disordered transcription factor that underlies approximately 70% of all human cancers and has long eluded both small molecule and antibody-based approaches. Furthermore, the data underscore that PLPs can be engineered to be bifunctional, enabling simultaneous engagement of MYC and the cell’s proteolytic machinery to achieve selective, targeted degradation. The study also establishes platform versatility through successful degradation of KRAS, another foundational oncogenic driver, and by engaging multiple cellular degradation pathways. Collectively, the results exemplify the potential of the platform for next-generation proximity-based therapeutics in cancer.

“MYC and KRAS drive a significant portion of human cancers – often aggressive ones – and effective drugs against these targets remain extremely limited,” said Nathan Gianneschi, Ph.D., Principal Investigator on the study, Professor at Northwestern University and Scientific Founder of Grove Biopharma. “We invented a one-step polymer chemistry solution in which protein-like polymers engage disordered proteins and recruit the cell’s own degradation machinery. This had not been done previously, and it proved effective against some of the most challenging targets in cancer biology.”

In the study, Gianneschi’s team developed PLPs that selectively bind MYC and KRAS and can direct each target to the cell’s natural degradation pathways, resulting in cancer cell death. By functioning as targeted protein degraders rather than inhibitors, PLPs eliminate pathogenic proteins entirely. Unlike antibodies or traditional small molecules, PLPs combine the selectivity of biologics with the ability to enter cells and induce intracellular protein–protein interactions.

Grove Biopharma has licensed the intellectual property for this technology from Northwestern University and is accelerating translation toward therapeutic development. While the current study focused on cancer, Grove is also advancing PLPs to target proteins implicated in neurodegenerative, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases. The company is developing biologics with properties that support oral bioavailability and, in some cases, penetration of the blood-brain barrier.

“Successful degradation of both MYC and KRAS highlights PLPs’ proximity-induced chemistry as an effective and generalizable mechanism for targeting proteins beyond the reach of traditional therapeutic modalities,” said Paul Bertin, Ph.D., Co-Founder, President and Chief Technology Officer at Grove Biopharma. “Our Bionic Biologics platform generates fully synthetic, rationally designed protein mimetics that overcome the major limitations of conventional biologics and peptides. Because PLPs are modular, cell-permeable, and scalable to manufacture, they enable rapid, iterative design-build-test cycles – allowing us to quickly identify lead molecules for challenging intracellular targets.”

About Grove Biopharma

Grove Biopharma is a private biotechnology company developing a new class of therapeutics based on protein-like polymers (PLPs). Through its Bionic Biologics platform, Grove integrates advances in synthetic chemistry, precision polymerization, protein and peptide engineering, and medicinal chemistry to create protein-scale architectures capable of targeting disease drivers that have historically been inaccessible to conventional drug modalities. Grove’s PLPs combine key attributes of antibodies with the ability to enter cells and engage intracellular protein–protein interactions. The company’s platform is modular and can be rapidly engineered to enable heterobifunctional designs that support proximity-driven chemistry, including targeted protein degradation. A spinout from Northwestern University, Grove brings together a multidisciplinary team of chemists, biologists, materials scientists and entrepreneurs. The company is based in Chicago and is part of the city’s emerging life sciences ecosystem. For more information, please visit grovebiopharma.com.

Contacts

Cynthia Clayton
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