Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has entered into a research collaboration agreement with InveniAI LLC, to identify novel therapeutic targets by leveraging InveniAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
 
Under the terms of the agreement, InveniAI will identify novel therapeutic targets in multiple diseases specified by Ono by leveraging InveniAI’s AlphaMeld and ChatAlphaMeld, its AI drug discovery platforms, and propose drug discovery hypotheses for optimization.
 
Ono will conduct validation studies to confirm the hypotheses for multiple therapeutic target candidates identified based on InveniAI’s drug discovery hypotheses. Furthermore, Ono will retain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize drug candidates generated through this collaboration worldwide.
 
“We appreciate InveniAI’s proprietary AI and ML technologies to identify drug discovery mechanisms utilizing comprehensively enormous amounts of data for the creation of innovative drugs,” said Toichi Takino, Senior Executive Officer / Executive Director, Discovery & Research at Ono. “Through this collaboration, the efficiency of drug discovery research will be greatly improved, and we hope to provide innovative therapeutic options to patients worldwide.”
 
“InveniAI is thrilled to partner with Ono, a company renowned for its commitment to innovation in drug discovery and development. Our collaboration signifies the merging of our collective expertise and cutting-edge technologies aimed at expediting the identification of de-risked product opportunities,” said Krishnan Nandabalan, Ph.D., President and CEO at InveniAI, LLC.
 
This news comes months after Ono entered into a drug discovery collaboration agreement with Adimab, LLC to discover and develop innovative antibody drugs in the oncology field.