Expanded collaboration continues to leverage Congruence’s proprietary computational drug discovery engine, Revenir™ to deliver Development Candidates in Neurology and Immunology
Congruence to receive undisclosed upfront payment as well as R&D funding, milestones and royalties
OSAKA, Japan and MONTREAL, March 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka, Japan; President and COO: Toichi Takino; “Ono”) and Congruence Therapeutics today announced that they have expanded their existing multi-target research partnership through the execution of a new research collaboration for two additional programs.
The expanded collaboration is focused on two clinically validated high-value targets in the areas of neurology and immunology for which Congruence will lead the effort to discover small molecule modulators and advance them to the development candidate stage. Ono will have the option to secure exclusive worldwide rights to further develop and commercialize development candidates generated under the new agreement.
An original collaboration between the companies, which began in December 2024, is focused on leveraging Congruence’s proprietary computational engine, Revenir™, to discover novel small molecule correctors directed to mutants of a difficult-to-drug cancer target.
“We are excited to expand our partnership with Ono, a global pioneer of innovative medicines,” said Sharath Hegde PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Congruence. “The expansion is a testament to the significant contributions we have made in our existing collaboration as well as the trust and confidence we continue to build with Ono. We look forward to leveraging the complementary strengths of both organizations to advance important research for the benefit of patients.”
The new collaboration continues to leverage Congruence’s computational drug discovery engine, Revenir™, which systematically captures the biophysical features of proteins in different functional states to enable a highly differentiated approach to small-molecule discovery.
Congruence’s wholly owned program directed to MC4R-deficient genetic obesity is entering a Phase 1/1b clinical study this month. In the next few weeks, Congruence will also nominate development candidates for each of its programs directed to GBA1-driven Parkinson’s Disease and Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency.
“Congruence’s advanced computational discovery engine is attracting growing global attention with its lead program entering clinical development. We are honored that our ongoing collaboration with Congruence is expanding beyond oncology to other priority areas including both neurology and immunology,” said Seishi Katsumata, Corporate Officer / Executive Director, Discovery & Research of Ono. “Through this partnership, we will be committed to accelerating the drug development so that we can deliver innovative new medicines to patients with unmet medical needs as quickly as possible.”
Under the terms of the new agreement announced today, Congruence will receive an upfront payment and is eligible to receive additional payments upon the achievement of certain milestones in discovery, development, approval and commercialization – in addition to tiered royalties based on annual net sales of related products. Moreover, Ono will reimburse Congruence for the internal and external research costs it incurs in connection with the activities undertaken in the expanded partnership.
About Revenir™ Drug Discovery Platform
Revenir™, Congruence’s proprietary computational drug discovery platform, captures the dynamic biophysical changes of proteins in different functional states, offering unique insights into protein function and their modulation. By examining surface features and a spectrum of biophysical descriptors across an ensemble of protein conformers, Revenir™ predicts small molecule induced modulation of underlying physiologic protein states. This platform-driven strategy underpins Congruence’s growing pipeline of first-in-class and best-in-class programs directed to genetically validated targets implicated in conditions associated with significant unmet medical need, supporting a readily scalable and repeatable value creation paradigm.
About Congruence Therapeutics
Congruence is a computationally driven biotechnology company building a unique pipeline of transformative small molecule correctors rationally designed to rescue aberrant protein function. Our proprietary scalable platform, Revenir™, captures the biophysical features of proteins across their conformational ensembles, in order to identify novel allosteric and cryptic pockets which are virtually screened to generate novel chemical matter. Congruence has leveraged its proprietary discovery engine to launch a pipeline of wholly owned drugs directed to high-value, genetically validated, difficult-to-drug targets spanning a variety of indications including genetic obesity, GBA Parkinson’s Disease, and α1-Antitrypsin Deficiency. Congruence is further deploying its discovery platform to support its multi-target research collaborations with large pharmaceutical companies focused on the discovery of small molecule correctors and allosteric modulators for the treatment of diseases in oncology, metabolic disease, neurology and immunology.
About Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. delivers innovative therapies for patients worldwide. Upholding its philosophy of “Dedicated to the Fight against Disease and Pain,” Ono targets areas with unmet medical needs including oncology, immunology & inflammation, and neurology, and fosters partnerships with academic and biotech organizations to accelerate drug discovery. Through its affiliate, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Ono is accelerating clinical development and commercial operations in the US and Europe to drive global business expansion and further its commitment to patient care. For more information, please visit the company’s website at https://www.ono-pharma.com/en.
Company Contact
Charles Grubsztajn
Chief Operating Officer
cgrubsztajn@congruencetx.com
Media Contact
Amy Conrad
Juniper Point
amy@juniper-point.com
858-366-3243
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/congruence-and-ono-pharma-expand-multi-target-research-partnership-with-the-addition-of-two-new-programs-302701525.html
SOURCE Congruence Therapeutics
