Draupnir Bio announces transformational publication detailing extracellular targeted protein degradation technology in Cell Chemical Biology

• Draupnir’s novel SORTAC platform expands reach of targeted protein degradation to extracellular proteins, demonstrating in vitro and in vivo efficacy against difficult-to-drug targets
• Study further details platform versatility through successful degradation of multiple therapeutically relevant targets, including inflammatory cytokine TNFα in macrophages and Schwann cells
  
  

Copenhagen, Denmark, 30 March 2026 – Draupnir Bio (“Draupnir”), a biotechnology company harnessing the natural machinery of the lysosome to develop oral, small molecule degraders of extracellular disease-causing proteins, today announces the publication of research in Cell Chemical Biology detailing Draupnir’s unique approach to degrading disease-causing proteins in the extracellular space.

Targeted protein degradation (TPD) is a rapidly emerging field in drug discovery, exploiting a cell’s own destruction machinery to tackle disease-causing proteins that have historically been highly challenging to target with conventional therapies. Yet first-generation approaches, such as PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs), are exclusively limited to cytosolic targets, leaving extracellular and membrane-bound proteins – 40% of the human proteome – untouched. Draupnir is extending the potential of TPD to target extracellular and membrane-bound proteins in a pioneering approach using its novel and differentiated, proprietary technology platform, utilising lysosome sorting receptors, which hold the potential to revolutionise the field of TPD.

The comprehensive study, ‘Reshaping the progranulin/sortilin interactions for targeted degradation of extracellular proteins’, published in Cell Chemical Biology, details Draupnir’s proprietary sortilin-based lysosome targeting chimera (SORTAC) technology, a modular platform that extends TPD beyond the limitations of current approaches by redirecting extracellular proteins to lysosomal degradation through repurposing of the progranulin-sortilin interaction. The research demonstrates that SORTACs exhibit hallmark PROTAC characteristics, including ternary complex formation, catalytic activity and sustained target depletion. Importantly, the platform's versatility is further validated through successful degradation of multiple therapeutically relevant targets, including the inflammatory cytokine TNFα in macrophages and Schwann cells.

"This publication represents a significant milestone in our scientific journey and validates our unique approach to harnessing lysosomal pathways for therapeutic benefit," said Simon Glerup, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Draupnir Bio. "By reshaping the natural interaction between sortilin and progranulin, we've created a modular platform that brings PROTAC-like pharmacology to the extracellular space. Our work demonstrates how we can exploit the cell's own destruction machinery to tackle disease-causing proteins that have historically been highly challenging to target, including soluble proteins, membrane proteins, and extracellular protein aggregates. These findings strengthen the scientific foundation for our risk-diversified preclinical pipeline of oral, small molecule degraders of extracellular targets and bring us closer to delivering innovative therapies to patients in need."

The SORTAC platform offers multiple implementation formats, from genetically encoded degraders and antibody conjugates to fully synthetic small molecules with drug-like properties. This chemical modularity enables systematic optimization and pharmacological tuning not readily accessible with other extracellular degradation approaches.

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For more information, please contact:

Draupnir Bio
Simon Glerup, Chief Scientific Officer
glerup@draupnir.bio

ICR Healthcare
David Daley, Emmalee Hoppe
Phone: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
Email: draupnirbio@icrhealthcare.com

About Draupnir Bio
Draupnir Bio is a Danish biotechnology company harnessing the natural machinery of the lysosome to develop oral, small molecule degraders of extracellular disease causing proteins – the next frontier of targeted protein degradation (TPD), a rapidly emerging field that exploits a cell’s own destruction machinery to tackle disease-causing proteins that have historically been highly challenging to target with conventional therapies. Led by a highly experienced team of pharma and biotech industry leaders, the Company was spun-out from Aarhus University, Denmark and the Max-Planck Society. Backed by a syndicate of leading investors, including the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), Gilde Healthcare Partners, Inkef Capital, Novo Holdings and MP Healthcare Venture Management, Draupnir is headquartered in Copenhagen, with research operations centred in Aarhus, Denmark.

For more, visit our website at draupnir.bio and follow us on LinkedIn.