In July, 2006, Ono and Locus entered into a drug discovery agreement targeting a kinase selected by Ono with the goal of identifying small molecule inhibitors of the targeted kinase. Based on the progress achieved in the ongoing collaboration and Ono’s appreciation of Locus’ unique capabilities in its integrated drug discovery approach, Ono decided to start a second collaboration with Locus on a newly selected kinase.
Joseph Reiser, president and CEO of Locus, said: “We are pleased with the progress of our existing Ono collaboration and are strongly encouraged by the confidence expressed by Ono to initiate a second discovery program. Having now applied our leading computational technology to many drug discovery targets including kinases, we enter this new collaboration with increased confidence to deliver strong results.”
Kazuhito Kawabata, executive director of strategic alliance headquarters, Ono, said: “We highly appreciate the competitive Locus infrastructure for drug discovery which effectively integrates their proprietary computational approaches. We are glad to expand our collaboration and look forward to realizing high value drug candidates.”