MALVERN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Progenra, Inc. (“Progenra”) announced today that it has entered into a research collaboration with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd (“Ono”). Under the agreement, Progenra will collaborate with Ono to conduct assay development and high throughput screening by using Progenra’s proprietary technology on multiple targets in the ubiquitin pathway. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We are pleased that Progenra’s unique UbiPro™ Drug Discovery Platform is gaining traction outside the US and that a major pharmaceutical company such as Ono has agreed to collaborate with Progenra on the ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like protein pathways,” said Tauseef Butt, President and CEO of Progenra. “Given Progenra’s accumulated knowledge and know-how in this space and Ono’s proven drug discovery record, we are confident of success.”
About The Ubiquitin Pathway
The Ubiquitin pathway was discovered in the late 1970s and its pioneers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004. The pathway plays a vital role in the regulation of protein metabolism within the cell, as determining the fate of proteins by either targeting them for destruction by the proteasome or preserving them from this fate. It is believed that this approach, which regulates the activity of specific target proteins, is innately more selective than other therapeutic approaches.
About Progenra, Inc.
Founded in 2002, Progenra is committed to discovering and developing high value medicines based on ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like protein pathways. Its early stage product portfolio addresses major unmet medical needs in cancer, inflammation, metabolic diseases, pathogen infection, muscle wasting, and neurodegenerative disease. Progenra is utilizing its world-class UbiPro™ Drug Discovery Platform to identify novel modulators of tractable targets in the ubiquitin proteasome pathway with the goal of developing drugs that exploit the role of ubiquitin in numerous disease states. The company’s drug discovery platform is complemented by internal biochemical, biological target validation programs and medicinal chemistry/lead optimization. For more information about Progenra, visit the company’s website at www.progenra.com.
About Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a R&D-oriented pharmaceutical company specialized in creating innovative medicines in specific areas and is headquartered in Osaka, Japan. For more information about Ono, visit the company’s website at www.ono.co.jp.