£3.6 million
Seed funding secured
For decades, drug discovery has relied on identifying molecules capable of interacting with specific biological targets. Yet many proteins linked to serious diseases have remained “undruggable”, resisting traditional therapeutic approaches and limiting treatment options for patients.
A new class of medicines known as molecular glues offers a powerful alternative. These small molecules can force two proteins inside a cell to bind together, enabling scientists to switch off harmful proteins or restore lost biological functions. In theory, molecular glues could unlock treatments for diseases that have long challenged conventional drug discovery, including chronic inflammatory and neuroinflammatory conditions.
However, despite their promise, molecular glues have historically been discovered largely by chance rather than by design. Ternary Therapeutics was founded to change that.
Established in November 2024, the London-based biotech company is developing a platform that combines artificial intelligence, physics-based modelling and laboratory experimentation to design molecular glue drugs deliberately and systematically. By transforming a previously unpredictable discovery process into an engineering discipline, Ternary is opening new possibilities for precision drug development.
Ternary Therapeutics has built an integrated platform designed to predict and engineer how proteins interact at the atomic level.
The company’s technology uses AI-driven modelling and physics-based simulations to understand how proteins move and interact inside cells. Using these insights, the platform proposes small molecules capable of bringing two specific proteins together in a controlled way – creating the “molecular glue” effect.
These computational predictions are then tested rapidly in the laboratory. Experimental results are fed directly back into the platform, creating a continuous design loop between computation and experimentation that improves accuracy and efficiency with every cycle.
This closed-loop system allows Ternary to move beyond chance discoveries and toward a repeatable engineering process for molecular glue drug design.
The platform has already generated a pipeline of preclinical drug candidates targeting inflammatory diseases where existing treatments remain limited. Alongside internal programmes, Ternary has established research collaborations with pharmaceutical and specialist biotechnology companies to explore the platform’s broader potential.
Seed funding secured
London-based biotech spin-out
Daphni Blue fund backing science-led deep tech innovation
This funding will support the expansion of Ternary’s scientific and computational teams and advance its lead programmes toward clinical development.
“For decades, molecular glues have been one of the most powerful ideas in drug discovery, but also one of the least predictable. By combining physics-informed AI with tight experimental feedback, we can design these molecules intentionally rather than waiting to discover them by luck.”
“Ternary’s approach to drug design is enabled by its compute power. This is a world class example of huge ambition with significant potential for patient benefit that UKI2S is delighted to back.”
UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), managed by Future Planet Capital, is proud to support Ternary Therapeutics as it develops a new approach to drug discovery emerging from the UK’s science and innovation ecosystem.
By backing companies at the earliest stages of development, UKI2S helps transform high-potential research and breakthrough technologies into scalable businesses capable of delivering global impact. Ternary exemplifies this mission – applying advanced computational science, biology and engineering to one of the most complex challenges in modern medicine.
Through early-stage investment and strategic support, UKI2S is helping the company accelerate platform development and advance its therapeutic pipeline toward clinical translation.
If molecular glues can be designed reliably, the implications for medicine could be profound. Proteins once considered unreachable by traditional drugs may become viable targets, expanding the reach of small molecule therapies into entirely new areas of disease.
Ternary Therapeutics is working to turn that possibility into reality. By combining artificial intelligence, physics-informed modelling and experimental biology, the company is pioneering a new generation of drug discovery tools.
With the backing of UKI2S and its investment partners, Ternary is positioning the UK at the forefront of a transformative approach to medicine – one that could unlock treatments for diseases that have long remained beyond the reach of modern therapeutics.
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