Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan; President and CEO: Gyo Sagara; “Ono”) today announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Sibylla Biotech (Milan, Italy; “Sibylla") to generate novel drug candidates for neurological disorders.

 Through this collaboration, Sibylla utilizes its proprietary protein degradation technology platform, PPI-FIT* technology to identify and generate small molecule Folding Interfering Degraders (FIDs) that induce the degradation of a target protein against therapeutic targets selected by Ono. Ono will generate drug candidates based on FIDs obtained from Sibylla and have an exclusive right to develop and commercialize these compounds worldwide. Ono will pay to Sibylla an upfront, research expenses, three-digit million dollars of total milestone payments at maximum based on the progress of research and development and commercialization, as well as royalties based on net sales.

PPI-FIT：Pharmacological Protein Inactivation by Folding Intermediates Targeting
PPI-FIT is a technology to enable the drug discovery of protein targets that are considered undruggable to generate because of the absence of binding pockets suitable for drug discovery in the native state.

 “We highly appreciate Sibylla's PPI-FIT technology platform that has the potential to surpass the limitations of conventional methods and generate a novel therapeutic drug for neurological disorders,” said Toichi Takino, Senior Executive Officer/Executive Director, Discovery & Research of Ono. “This collaboration is a key part of our strategy to enhance our pipeline for neurological disorders and bring innovative solutions to patients facing serious neurological disorders.”

 “Our partnership with Ono Pharmaceutical represents a fusion of Sibylla's cutting-edge technology in protein folding simulation with Ono's extensive experience in neurological research area. Together, we aim to unlock new therapeutic possibilities for patients worldwide,” commented Lidia Pieri, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sibylla Biotech. “I am honored to collaborate with the Ono team, whose rich history, expertise and culture I greatly appreciate, and all of us at Sibylla look forward to working closely with them.”