SAN DIEGO — Degron Therapeutics has closed a $40 million Series A extension to support clinical development of its lead molecular glue degrader program and advance additional immunology programs toward investigational new drug filings.
The clinical-stage biotechnology company, which has operations in San Diego, Hangzhou and Shanghai, said the round was led by LAPAM CAPITAL. Other investors included GTJA Investment Group, Fortune Capital, CSPC & Growth, ApicHope, GF Xinde, CASSTAR, Kinghall Ventures and GAGE Capital.
The financing brings Degron’s total capital raised to $95 million.
Degron is developing molecular glue degrader medicines aimed at previously undruggable or insufficiently drugged proteins. The company said proceeds from the financing will support continued development of DEG6498, its lead HuR molecular glue degrader, as well as two immunology programs and further expansion of its GlueXplorer platform.
DEG6498 entered the clinic in late 2025, with the first patient dosed in November. The first-in-class program targets HuR, or Human antigen R, an RNA-binding protein involved in cancer, inflammation and metabolic disorders. The program is currently in dose escalation in a Phase 1 study in patients with advanced solid tumors.
“We are thrilled to welcome this distinguished group of investors who share our vision for transforming the treatment of serious diseases with high unmet need through our innovative MGD platform,” said Lily Zou, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Degron Therapeutics. “This financing will support the continued advancement of our clinical-stage and preclinical pipeline and further strengthen our technology platform. The strong interest from leading healthcare investors underscores confidence in our approach to developing novel MGDs. With our first-in-class HuR program now advancing in the clinic and two additional immunology programs approaching pre-clinical development, we are making significant progress toward our goal of delivering breakthrough therapies to improve patients’ lives.”
The company said the new funding will help advance its immunology programs to development candidate stage in 2026. It will also support ongoing work on GlueXplorer, Degron’s proprietary molecular glue discovery platform, which is designed to generate potential first-in-class and best-in-disease drug candidates.
“We are pleased to lead this financing round for Degron. Targeted protein degradation remains a key focus for us, and Degron’s proprietary molecular glue platform, built on deep expertise and a strong data foundation, demonstrates robust capabilities in discovering novel targets and compounds, including for historically undruggable targets,” said Mr. Zhihua Yu, Chairman of Lapam Capital, which led the financing. “We are impressed by the team’s strengths across R&D, translational development, and business development. With this financing, we believe Degron is well-positioned to advance its pipeline efficiently and generate compelling clinical data to benefit patients.”
Founded in 2021 by ShanghaiTech University professor Yong Cang, Ph.D., Degron built GlueXplorer as a de novo molecular glue degrader discovery platform. The company said it has created more than 10,000 structurally differentiated molecular glue degrader compounds across more than 150 novel non-IMiDs cores, supported by multiple screening and validation approaches.
Degron said the platform has enabled it to build a pipeline targeting disease-causing proteins that have historically been difficult to reach with conventional small-molecule drugs.
The company is also working with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners to expand molecular glue degrader research and development across multiple therapeutic areas, including an ongoing collaboration with Takeda.
