Ono Enters into Collaboration Agreement with EVQLV to Generate Novel Antibodies against Multiple Targets Utilizing EVQLV’s AI-powered Antibody Design Engine for Development of Innovative Antibody Drugs

OSAKA, Japan, Dec. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan; President and CEO: Gyo Sagara; “Ono”) today announced that it has entered into a discovery collaboration agreement with EVQLV, INC (Miami, Florida USA; CEO: Andrew Satz; “EVQLV”), to generate novel antibodies against multiple targets selected by Ono, for the development of innovative antibody drugs.

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. Ono will retain option rights to exclusively and globally develop and commercialize the antibody drug candidates.

“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.”

About EVQLV, INC
EVQLV transforms antibody development for biotechs and pharmaceutical companies using artificial intelligence. EVQLV’s AI-powered Antibody Design Engine uses a wide range of machine learning and software engineering techniques to generate fully-human and developable therapeutic antibody designs. For further information, please visit the company’s website at https://evqlv.com.

About EVQLV’s AI-powered antibody design platform
EVQLV’s antibody design platform combines evolution, structure, and protein language models to generate target-specific antibody sequences. The platform designs and modifies antibodies while retaining conformational and functional integrity, providing a shorter path to recombinant antibody expression and functional testing. By combining antibody discovery and engineering into a single workflow, EVQLV’s end-to-end design platform can perform de novo design, biobetter design, and affinity maturation, all while enhancing developability and specificity.

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SOURCE Ono Pharmaceutical Co.