Nutshell Therapeutics received FDA IND clearance for NTS-231, a covalent allosteric molecular glue degrader designed to induce NRF2 degradation by covalently binding KEAP1. The company said the candidate was identified through its AI-driven Allostar platform. IND clearance moves the program into formal clinical preparation, enabling Nutshell to begin study execution under FDA oversight for a pathway frequently pursued in cardiometabolic and inflammatory contexts where NRF2 modulation is relevant. The filing also signals that KEAP1–NRF2 pathway degraders remain an active platform area for next-generation small molecules, with molecular glue designs expanding the range of drug-like protein interaction mechanisms.