BioSeek and Ono agree research collaboration
BioSeek will apply its BioMAP technology to Ono drug target
BioSeek, a pioneer in the application of predictive human biology to drug discovery, and Japanese pharmaceutical firm Ono Pharmaceutical, have signed a three-year drug discovery collaboration agreement.
Under the agreement, BioSeek, a subsidiary of Asterand, a supplier of human tissue and human-tissue research, will apply its proprietary BioMAP technology in an exclusive collaboration centred on a specific drug target class designated by Ono, performing phenotypic screening and for hit identification, lead optimisation and clinical candidate selection.
BioSeek will receive research funding and milestone payments. Ono will have worldwide rights to develop and sell all pharmaceutical products discovered through the collaboration.
Martyn Coombs, chief executive of Asterand, said: ‘Ono’s decision to establish this new relationship with BioSeek is an important endorsement of both our technology platform and collaborative research model. Since the range of activities included spans the breadth of BioMAP’s potential, we expect great success in this collaboration.’
‘We anticipate that this collaboration will result in identifying unique and innovative pharmaceutical product efficiently in the regions where Ono can exploit its technology and know-how acquired and developed through our research activities,’ added Kazuhito Kawabata, managing director, research headquarters at Ono.
