Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka, Japan; President: Toichi Takino; "Ono") announced that it has entered into a drug discovery collaboration agreement with Congruence Therapeutics (Headquarters: Montreal, Quebec, Canada; CEO: Clarissa Desjardins; "Congruence") to generate novel small molecule correctors against multiple protein targets in the oncology area by leveraging Congruence's proprietary drug discovery platform, Revenir™.

Under the terms of the agreement, Congruence will generate small molecule correctors by leveraging Congruence's proprietary drug discovery engine called, Revenir™. Ono will obtain an exclusive option right to develop, manufacture and commercialize the identified small molecule correctors worldwide. Congruence will be eligible to receive an upfront payment, research expenses, milestone payments based on research and development progress and sales, as well as tiered royalties based on net sales.

"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," said Seishi Katsumata, Corporate Officer / Executive Director, Discovery & Research of Ono. "We will be committed to delivering innovative new drugs to cancer patients as soon as possible."

"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," said Sharath Hegde PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Congruence.