Ono Pharma and EVQLV Enters into Agreemnt To Generate Novel Antibodies

Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd announced a discovery collaboration agreement with EVQLV, INC to create novel antibodies against diverse targets chosen by Ono for the development of novel antibody medicines.

Under the agreement, EVQLV will generate and provide therapeutic antibody designs against multiple therapeutic targets selected by Ono, using EVQLV's proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI)- powered Antibody Design Engine. Based on the antibody designs generated through the collaboration, Ono will generate potential antibodies to create, develop and commercialize antibody drug candidates. During the research period, Ono will pay EVQLV research funding and success- based research milestone payments, as per Ono Pharmaceutical.

"We have been actively working to create biologics including antibody drugs in order to address unmet medical needs for a wide range of diseases. We are very pleased to collaborate with EVQLV having its proprietary AI-powered Antibody Design Engine. We expect that the EVQLV's AI- technology will enable us to create novel antibody candidates against multiple targets more promptly and effectively," said Dr. Toichi Takino, Senior Executive Officer / Executive Director, Discovery and Research of Ono. "We are committed to accelerating our efforts in antibody drug discovery against multiple targets selected by Ono and bringing innovative drugs for patients as soon as possible."

"Ono has a successful history of identifying unique targets that have translated into life-changing medicines that have helped countless patients around the world," said Andrew Satz, CEO and co- founder of EVQLV. "At EVQLV, our mission is to make AI easily accessible to researchers in order to positively impact the odds of success in drug discovery. We are honored to be working alongside the scientific and drug development experts at Ono, who have the ability to leverage our AI-designed antibodies and deliver breakthrough options for patients in need."