BOSTON & GHENT, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 10, 2026--
Orionis Biosciences, a privately held, clinical-stage life sciences company pioneering proximity-induced therapeutic modalities, today announced a multi-year collaboration with Novartis to discover and design molecular glue drugs for challenging therapeutic targets across multiple disease areas. The collaboration expands the existing relationship between the companies and reflects a shared commitment to unlock the full value of induced proximity approaches in drug development.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis and Orionis will use Orionis’s Allo-Glue™ platform, together with its AI-driven discovery engine, to accelerate target and ligase profiling and molecular glue optimization. These integrated capabilities enable the systematic discovery of small molecule glues that modulate therapeutic targets through induced proximity mechanisms. Orionis will receive an upfront payment of USD 40 million and is eligible to receive research, development, and commercial milestone payments of up to USD 1.4 billion, in addition to tiered royalties on net sales of collaboration products.
“We are proud to renew and expand our collaboration with Novartis,” said Niko Kley, Chief Executive Officer of Orionis Biosciences. “Having such a partner continue to engage deeply with us is a strong validation of the value of our molecular glue platform and the progress we have achieved toward rational and scalable discovery of this emerging drug class.”
“Our recent advances in AI and robotic automation have accelerated all aspects of molecular glue discovery, from systematic prioritization of productive target–ligase pairs to glue candidate discovery and optimization,” said Riccardo Sabatini, Chief Data Scientist at Orionis Biosciences. “This is exactly the kind of platform maturity that makes collaborations like this possible.”
“We are excited to deepen our collaboration with Orionis and to explore the full potential of molecular glue modalities across multiple therapeutic areas,” said John Tallarico, Head of Discovery Sciences at Novartis. “The Orionis platform offers an opportunity to rapidly uncover and design molecular glue mechanisms, enabling us to expand the horizon of targetable biology for future therapies.”
About Orionis Biosciences
Orionis Biosciences is a clinical‑stage life sciences company pioneering the systematic discovery and design of small and large molecule therapeutic modalities that act through molecular proximity mechanisms to impact challenging and traditionally elusive disease targets. The company’s proprietary Allo‑Glue™ small molecule platform enables functional reprogramming of proteins within living cells. Orionis has established advanced capabilities in chemical biology, artificial intelligence‑driven molecular design, and large‑scale cell‑based interrogation, enabling rational discovery of molecular glues for degradation, stabilization or modulation of target proteins. Orionis is advancing a diversified pipeline of programs in oncology and immunology and collaborates with leading biopharmaceutical companies to translate its technologies into transformative medicines.
To learn more, please visit www.orionisbio.com.
CEO Niko Kley, pictured with Chief Data Scientist Riccardo Sabatini and Chief Strategy Officer Giulio Draetta
WASHINGTON (AP) — The newly drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's bottom surface has noticeably faded since it was lined with a protective coating in a color President Donald Trump called “American flag blue” this spring.
An Associated Press reporter and photographer viewed the fenced-off Reflecting Pool on Wednesday from the top of the Washington Monument. The new liner appears grayer than when the pool was repainted and refilled with water in early June. Debris that had been visible earlier this week after the pool was drained is now largely gone, after work crews removed it.
Trump’s problem-plagued effort to revamp the landmark has stretched well past his initial goal of having the Reflecting Pool ready by July 4 for the nation’s 250th birthday.
The president at first suggested his renovations would cost $1.5 million, but the bill ballooned to more than $16 million by June.
Trump had said the repairs would last a century, but within days of the project's initial completion last month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.
Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.
Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for the peeling paint, though critics allege it’s from shoddy repair work.
Trump has said, without citing evidence, that vandals made a “350-foot gash” in the liner and caused other problems. No large slash marks were immediately visible Wednesday from the Washington Monument view. It was not possible to do a more up-close inspection of the entire pool due to a dark fence surrounding the perimeter.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency oversees the National Park Service, said that after the water is drained and debris is cleaned from Independence Day fireworks, the plan for the pool is straightforward: “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again." He was speaking with conservative podcaster Katie Miller.
Court documents show that the National Park Service reported to the U.S. Park Police a June 9 incident in which a sharp knife or razor was said to have cut the pool’s new liner.
Former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn pleaded not guilty last week in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker.
His attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided the case as an abuse of prosecutorial power and maintain he is being scapegoated for the poor job done fixing up the Reflecting Pool.
At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the pool, court records show. All three pleaded not guilty during initial court appearances.
The work on the Reflecting Pool is just one of a number of projects Trump has spearheaded across the nation’s capital. Most prominently, he demolished the White House’s East Wing to build a $400 million ballroom and plans to build a towering arch. between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
National Park Service workers investigate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The Reflecting Pool, Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol are seen, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The Reflecting Pool is seen from the Washington Monument, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The Reflecting Pool is seen from the Washington Monument, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool are seen from the Washington Monument, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
