Ono Pharmaceutical has pulled the trigger on an immuno-oncology licensing agreement with Numab Therapeutics. After seeing its partner’s work on a “new and very challenging immuno-oncology target,” Ono decided to commit to a 258 million Swiss franc ($279 million) financial package to add the program to its pipeline.
Numab and Ono began working together on a multispecific antibody candidate in 2017. Back then, the partners revealed the program would use Numab’s multispecifics platform and “exploit one of Ono’s novel therapeutic approaches in immuno-oncology.” The deal gave Ono the option to acquire exclusive rights to the lead compound that emerged from the collaboration.
Five years later, Numab and Ono have their lead compound. Full details of the multispecific antibody are still under wraps, but Numab CEO David Urech has provided a teaser about the target of the compound.
“We are proud to have advanced this novel multispecific antibody candidate against a new and very challenging immuno-oncology target to this milestone. The licensing of the asset is an affirmation of our platform’s ability to create novel and unique pharmacology,” Urech said in a statement.
Under the terms of the 2017 deal, exercising the option has given Ono exclusive global development and commercialization rights to the candidate, which was code-named ND023 by Numab. Ono could end up paying 258 million Swiss francs for those rights. The figure includes research funding, upfront fees and milestone payments. Ono is also on the hook for tiered single to double digit royalties on future sales.
The execution of the deal provides further evidence of Ono’s satisfaction with the Numab collaboration. In 2020, Ono formed a second research and option agreement, putting 260 million Swiss francs on the table in return for a chance to work with Numab on the development of an antibody capable of binding to “a combination of multiple discovery targets different from the earlier agreement.”