Japanese drugmaker Ono Pharmaceutical has entered into a drug discovery collaboration in oncology with Canada-based Congruence Therapeutics.
The partnership aims to develop novel small molecule correctors against multiple protein targets. It will use Congruence Therapeutics’ proprietary drug discovery platform, Revenir.
The computational drug discovery platform captures the dynamic biophysical changes in proteins caused by mutations. It offers insights into protein defects and their correction.
By analysing surface features and a range of biophysical descriptors across multiple protein conformations, the platform predicts how small molecules can correct these defects.
Ono Pharmaceutical corporate officer and discovery and research executive director Seishi Katsumata said: “We believe that this collaboration with Congruence may help generating novel small molecule correctors for validated targets in the oncology area by leveraging their own technologies in protein dynamics and computational biology, leading to our development pipeline.
“We will be committed to delivering innovative new drugs to cancer patients as soon as possible.”
Under the agreement, Congruence Therapeutics will use the Revenir platform to generate small molecule correctors.
Ono Pharmaceutical will have an exclusive option right to develop, manufacture, and commercialise these correctors globally.
Congruence Therapeutics will receive an upfront payment, research funding, milestone payments related to research and development (R&D) progress and sales, and tiered royalties based on net sales.
Congruence Therapeutics chief scientific officer Sharath Hegde said: “Congruence is thrilled to partner with Ono, which has established itself as a global leader in drug development, particularly in the oncology space.
“We believe that our Revenir platform and capabilities in protein dynamics will accelerate the discovery of novel therapies for compelling targets of interest to both companies.”
Congruence Therapeutics is a computationally driven biotechnology company developing a pipeline of small molecule correctors. These molecules are rationally designed to restore the function of aberrant proteins.
In March 2023, the company closed an extension to its Series A financing, bringing the total amount raised to over $65m.
