In the pursuit of new medicines for oncological diseases

Under the terms of the agreement, target proteins (modes of action) identified and initially validated at UW-Madison will be provided to Orion as a first step in establishing a research and development collaboration. The parties will jointly participate in planning and conducting research and development projects according to predefined roles and responsibilities.

Both parties will cover their own costs throughout the collaboration. The agreement states that all future income related to individual joint projects of the collaboration parties shall be shared between the parties in proportion to their respective share of development investments.

"We are excited about partnering with Wi2 and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which is recognised for its scientific excellence in the field of oncology. The university is performing fundamental research and also has excellent capabilities for Phase IIA clinical studies. These competence areas added to our expertise to develop a molecule to medicine are offering us a great opportunity to find, research and develop new treatments for patients suffering from oncological diseases", says Reijo Salonen, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Orion Corporation.

Collaborating with a global partner such as Orion is an important step in making sure that valuable discoveries made at UW-Madison can be developed into potentially life-saving drugs

"Wi2 is eager to be the bridge that makes this collaboration possible," says Richard L. Moss PhD, Chief Scientific Officer for Wi2. "Collaborating with a global partner such as Orion is an important step in making sure that valuable discoveries made at UW-Madison can be developed into potentially life-saving drugs."

Wi2 is a non-profit organisation committed to cultivating and supporting innovation. It supports the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a global leader in life science research and technology development.

In collaboration with Orion, the University of Wisconsin-Madison's core competence areas are target discovery and validation, biological testing and conducting clinical Phase IIA studies.

Orion's oncology therapy area has been growing remarkably and the company has three promising development projects ongoing in the field of oncology.

Orion has a proven track record in developing new innovative treatments from molecule to man, and therefore, collaboration with UW-Madison will improve the opportunities to find and invent new innovative treatments in the field of oncology.