Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan; President and CEO: Gyo Sagara; “Ono”) today announced that it has entered into a worldwide drug discovery collaboration agreement with Macomics Ltd (Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; CEO: Stephen Myatt; “Macomics”), a leader in macrophage drug discovery, to develop new immuno-oncology antibody drugs against a novel macrophage target of interest in cancer.

 Under the terms of the agreement, Macomics will discover antibody candidates against a novel macrophage target identified and validated using its ENIGMAC™ macrophage drug discovery platform. Ono will have an exclusive option to license global rights to the candidates for further development and commercialization. Ono will pay to Macomics an up-front payment, R&D funding, and milestone payments based on development and commercialization progress, as well as tiered royalties based on global net sales.

 “Targeting macrophages in immuno-oncology is emerging as an exciting area with significant opportunity to deliver novel therapeutics to improve cancer outcomes and to change the lives of patients with cancer,” said Toichi Takino, Senior Executive Officer / Executive Director, Discovery & Research of Ono. “Macomics has demonstrated the power of its macrophage platform and drug discovery approach and we are delighted to partner with Macomics on taking this novel target discovery program forwards.”

 “This global collaboration with Ono is testament to our strong program portfolio, and the unique enablement offered by our ENIGMAC discovery platform, and our world class R&D team,” said Stephen Myatt, CEO of Macomics. “Ono is a leader in immuno-oncology and we are delighted to have a partner in Ono who brings the complementary skills necessary to succeed in this therapeutic area.”