John G. Houston, Ph.D.
- A veteran biopharma innovator who helped advance the first FDA-approved PROTAC drug, Dr. Houston will strengthen Entact's leadership in induced-proximity therapeutics.
- Dr. Houston's deep experience with protein degraders will be invaluable to supporting Entact’s development of ENTAC™ medicines, which leverage the same underlying induced-proximity mechanism as PROTAC protein degraders to achieve the opposite effect: enhancing the function of beneficial proteins.
- The appointment bolsters Entact's efforts to advance its Encompass™ platform and pipeline of protein-enhancing ENTAC medications, opening up a new way of treating loss-of-function disease.
Watertown, MA, June 23, 2026 – Entact Bio, a developer of precision medicines that enhance the function of beneficial proteins, today announced that John G. Houston, Ph.D., has been appointed as Independent Director to Entact’s Board. Dr. Houston is a veteran biopharma leader who helped build the scientific and clinical foundation for proximity-inducing drugs, a new class of medicines that bring two different proteins together to produce a therapeutic effect.
“We are delighted to have Dr. Houston join us. John helped build Arvinas into the company that earned the first-ever FDA approval for a type of proximity-inducing drugs called PROTACs (Proteolysis-Targeting Chimera), with Veppanu (vepdegestrant) recently approved. His scientific depth and his experience taking a novel mechanism from concept to approval make him invaluable as we advance ENTACs (ENhancement-TArgeting Chimeras) toward patients,” said Richard Gaster, Managing Partner at venBio Partners and Chair of Entact’s Board of Directors.
“John’s experience advancing a first-in-class induced proximity mechanism from concept to approved medicine is directly relevant to what we are building at Entact,” said Victoria Richon, CEO of Entact Bio. “We are thrilled to have him join our Board as we advance our Encompass platform and ENTAC pipeline.”
Dr. Houston served as President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Chair of the Board of Directors at Arvinas, where he led the advancement of multiple PROTAC programs into clinical development and currently serves on its Board of Directors. Prior to Arvinas, he spent more than 18 years in roles of increasing responsibility at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), where as part of the R&D leadership team he contributed to advancing more than 200 compounds into early development, several of which progressed into late-stage clinical trials. Before BMS, he served as Head of the Lead Discovery Unit at Glaxo Wellcome Research and Development.
“PROTACs demonstrated that induced proximity holds vast therapeutic potential,” said Dr. Houston. “PROTACs direct that power toward degrading harmful proteins. ENTACs, on the other hand, direct it toward enhancing beneficial ones. I am excited to join Entact’s efforts to apply this principle to loss-of-function diseases, conditions that have long been out of reach for conventional therapeutics. The opportunity here is substantial.”
Dr. Houston earned a B.Sc. in Medical Microbiology from the University of Glasgow and a Ph.D. in Microbial Biochemistry from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. He also completed postdoctoral research at the University of Glasgow on a Medical Research Council (MRC) grant.
About Entact Bio
Entact Bio is developing a novel class of precision medicines that enhance the function of beneficial proteins. Launched by a founding team deeply rooted in deubiquitylase (DUB) biochemistry, chemical biology, disease biology, and small-molecule drug development, Entact has built its proprietary Encompass™ platform to create ENhancement-TArgeting Chimeric (ENTAC™) medicines. ENTACs leverage the natural ability of DUBs to regulate and enhance protein function. By harnessing the power of DUBs, Entact is expanding the universe of treatable diseases and creating new options for patients who are underserved by current therapeutic modalities. For more information, visit entactbio.com.
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media@entactbio.com
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