Standigm and Protai Launch Joint R&D Program to Design Selective Molecular Glue Degraders Using Structural Proteomics and Generative AI

Korea-Israel collaboration, supported by KORIL-RDF, pairs Protai's AI-powered structural proteomics with Standigm's generative drug design to tackle selectivity - a central challenge in targeted protein degradation

SEOUL, Republic of Korea and TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Standigm, an AI-driven drug discovery company, and Protai, a proteomics and AI-based drug discovery company, today announced a joint research and development program to build an integrated platform for the discovery of selective molecular glue degraders (MGDs). The two-year program is supported by the Korea–Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (KORIL-RDF).

Molecular glue degraders are a fast-growing class of medicines that can eliminate disease-causing proteins, including targets long considered "undruggable" by conventional inhibitors. One of the most important -and still largely unsolved - challenges is selectivity: designing a degrader that removes the intended target while sparing closely related proteins. This collaboration is designed to address that challenge directly.

Under the program, Protai's AI-powered structural proteomics platform will resolve the glue-induced ternary complexes by integrating experimental structural data with AI-based structure modeling, and Standigm will extend its advanced generative AI for small-molecule drug design - specialized for this program as STELLA-MGD - to design and optimize selective degrader candidates on those structures. Together, the teams will run an iterative design-make-test-analyze cycle that couples structure-guided AI generation with experimental validation.

"Molecular glue degraders can reach targets that traditional drugs cannot - but making them selective is still largely a matter of chance. In this program we are extending Standigm's proven generative AI for small-molecule design into the molecular-glue space, and pairing it with Protai's AI-driven structural proteomics, so that selectivity becomes something we design rather than discover by chance. We're proud to build this together with Protai under the Korea–Israel program," said Sang Ok Song, Chief Executive Officer of Standigm.

"This collaboration brings together two highly complementary capabilities: Protai's ability to resolve and model the protein interactions created by molecular glues, and Standigm's generative AI expertise in designing optimized small molecules. Together, we are excited to establish a more systematic route to selective molecular glue degraders and expand the set of disease targets that can be addressed with induced-proximity therapeutics," said Eran Seger, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Protai.

The program is jointly funded through KORIL-RDF, with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea and the Israel Innovation Authority.

About Standigm

Standigm is a Seoul-based AI drug discovery company founded in 2015, applying AI across the early discovery workflow from target identification to compound design. Its proprietary platform, STELLA, is purpose-built for AI-driven small-molecule design and lead optimization, powering a pipeline of first-in-class programs and partnerships with global pharma. www.standigm.com

About Protai

Protai is an AI drug discovery company founded in 2021, unlocking the therapeutic potential of induced-proximity therapeutics, PROTACs, molecular glues, and RIPTACs, through structural proteomics. Its proprietary AIMS™ platform combines high-throughput proteomics data with AI-enabled structures to accurately model ternary complexes and design best-in-class therapies, powering a pipeline of proprietary assets and global partnerships with biopharma. www.protai.bio

About KORIL-RDF

The Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (KORIL-RDF) supports joint industrial R&D between companies in Korea and Israel, backed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Israel Innovation Authority.

Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Protai