Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Investment reflects General Proximity's strong scientific position and innovation in next-generation induced proximity medicines, and the interest in a potential future strategic collaboration from Daewoong Pharmaceutical. SAN FRANCISCO, May 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- FreeMind Investments (FMI), a venture capital fund launched in partnership between FreeMind Group and Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., today announced its investment in General Proximity, a San Francisco-based biotechnology company pioneering the next generation of induced proximity medicines. General Proximity has built the first mechanism-agnostic proximity discovery engine centered on scanning the "effectome"—the set of effector proteins that can modulate disease causing proteins to control biology and enable the development of highly efficacious proximity therapeutics for targets previously beyond the reach of medicine. The company has raised over $20 million, secured five "Golden Ticket" awards from major pharma companies (AbbVie, Servier, Astellas, Ono, Bristol-Myers Squibb), received non-dilutive grants from ARPA-H and the NIH's National Cancer Institute and most recently announced a strategic multi-target collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo applying its proprietary OmniTAC platform to several oncology programs. The company is advancing its own programs across oncology, cardiometabolic disease, neurodegeneration, and longevity. FreeMind Group, founded in 1999, is the leading non-dilutive funding consultancy for life science organizations, having secured over $2 billion for its clients to date and garnering over $100 million annually. FMI leverages this unique vantage point—using the non-dilutive funding review process as a differentiated due diligence tool to identify high-conviction investment candidates early—while also providing investees with pharma deal-making access, including co-development opportunities and entry into the Asian market. Established in 1945, Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a leading South Korean pharmaceutical company developing, manufacturing, and commercializing first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceuticals across global markets, with strategic partnerships in more than 100 countries. This investment reflects Daewoong Pharmaceutical's strategic interest in General Proximity's platform and its intent to explore a future strategic collaboration. "FMI was built to translate deep non-dilutive funding intelligence into investment conviction," said Ram May-Ron, Founder and Managing Partner at FreeMind Investments. "General Proximity stands out for the quality of its science, the strength of its team, and its potential to unlock new therapeutic options for targets long considered out of reach." "We see significant strategic potential in General Proximity's induced proximity approach," said Seongsoo Park, CEO, Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. "We look forward to building a future strategic collaboration with the General Proximity team." "We are excited to welcome FreeMind Investments and Daewoong Pharmaceutical as investors," said Armand Cognetta, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of General Proximity. "Their investment conviction and deep expertise in drug discovery validates our scientific approach and the high-impact pipeline we are building." ABOUT FREEMIND INVESTMENTS (FMI) FreeMind Investments (FMI) is a venture capital fund launched in partnership between FreeMind Group and Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., making direct equity investments while leveraging the non-dilutive funding review process to identify promising life science investment opportunities and bridge the biotech startup "valley of death." ABOUT FREEMIND GROUP Founded in 1999, FreeMind Group is the leading non-dilutive funding consultancy for life science organizations, having helped clients secure over $2 billion in funding to date, garnering over $100 million annually across NIH, DoD, BARDA, NSF, FDA, and private foundations. ABOUT DAEWOONG PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD. Established in 1945, Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a leading South Korean pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, and commercializes pharmaceuticals globally, with in-house R&D capabilities, international operations across Asia and the United States, and strategic partnerships in more than 100 countries worldwide. ABOUT GENERAL PROXIMITY General Proximity is a biotechnology company advancing next-generation induced proximity medicines. Its proprietary OmniTAC™ platform enables unbiased identification of effector proteins capable of modulating disease-relevant targets, unlocking new opportunities across oncology and other therapeutic areas. The company is advancing multiple preclinical programs generated by the OmniTAC™ platform. SOURCE General Proximity 21% more press release views with Request a Demo

Inhibrx Biosciences may be close to spinning off another portion of its pipeline. The biotech's  shares jumped about 40% on Wednesday after a report from Reuters detailed interest from several pharmas, including Merck & Co., in buying a pair of experimental cancer drugs from Inhibrx. According to people familiar with the matter, the deal could be worth $9 billion, including a $1-billion price tag for ozekibart (INBRX-109) and $8 billion for INBRX-106, a hexavalent OX40 agonist.The latter programme's high hypothetical valuation stems from its potential to synergise with Merck's oncology megablockbuster, Keytruda (pembrolizumab). INBRX-106 is being studied in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor in a Phase II/III head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) trial. Inhibrx plans to share objective response rate (ORR) results this quarter, and will present progression-free survival (PFS) findings at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting in October. Reuters' sources said that early data from more than 30 HNSCC patients in the Phase II/III trial suggest that INBRX-106 added to Keytruda can boost ORR to 45%, compared with 30% for the immunotherapy alone. More than half of Merck's revenues last year came from Keytruda, which delivered $31.7 billion in sales, but the PD-1 inhibitor's 2028 patent cliff has prompted the pharma to pad its pipeline with mid- to late-stage asset acquisitions (see – Spotlight On: Merck & Co.'s fastest selling drugs in 2025 and Vital Signs: The biggest spenders of the first quarter).Spinout structure?The second asset up for grabs, ozekibart, is a tetravalent agonist that targets human death receptor 5 (DR5) to induce tumour-selective programmed cell death. Inhibrx submitted an application to FDA this month for the candidate to treat conventional chondrosarcoma, and it's also exploring the potential for accelerated approval in fourth-line colorectal cancer (CRC) and refractory Ewing sarcoma. On Tuesday, Inhibrx reported data from a Phase I/II trial showing that ozekibart, in combination with chemotherapy, led to an overall response rate of 20% in 45 patients with locally advanced or metastatic, unresectable CRC. According to the report, Inhibrx is considering spinning out ozekibart and INBRX-106 in a deal similarly structured to the one it struck with Sanofi in 2024. The French pharma paid $30 per share in cash, plus a $5-per-share contingent value right, to buy Inhibrx and its alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) candidate, INBRX-101, for about $1.7 billion.After the deal closed, Inhibrx continued development of its remaining assets under a new company that was backed by $200 million in cash.In addition to Merck, the German drugmaker Merck KGaA and Japanese firm Ono Pharmaceuticals are also reportedly interested in Inhibrx's cancer assets.

OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ono Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka, Japan; President and COO: Toichi Takino; “Ono”), today announced two upcoming presentations at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting to be held in Chicago, Illinois, from May 29 to June 2, 2026. ONO-4578 Monday, June 1, 2026, 9:45 am to 12:45 pm CT, Oral Presentation Abstract Number: 4007 Title: ONO-4578 combined with nivolumab and chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with HER2-negative unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric/gastroesophageal junction cancer: a randomized, double-blind, phase 2 trial (ONO-4578-08) Presenter: Sung Hee Lim, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea Nivolumab (OPDIVO ® ） Monday, June 1, 2026, 9:45 am to 12:45 pm CT, Oral Presentation Abstract Number: 4006 Title: Nivolumab plus ipilimumab combined with chemotherapy as first-line treatment for HER2-negative unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric/gastroesophageal junction cancer: a randomized phase 3 trial (ATTRACTION-6) Presenter: Do-Youn Oh, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea About ONO-4578 ONO-4578 is a selective, oral antagonist of EP4, which is one of the prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) receptors, developed by Ono. ONO-4578 is expected to exert antitumor effect by suppressing EP4-mediated effect of PGE 2 and by restoring cancer immunity 1) . Based on the results of clinical trials in patients with gastric cancer that will be presented at ASCO 2026, we are currently working with our group company, Deciphera, to advance preparations for the initiation of a global Phase III clinical trial. About nivolumab (OPDIVO ® ） Opdivo is a programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor that is designed to uniquely harness the body’s own immune system to help restore anti-tumor immune response by blocking the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands. By harnessing the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, Opdivo has become an important treatment option across multiple cancers since the approval for the treatment of melanoma in Japan in July 2014. Opdivo is currently approved in more than 65 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the US and European Union. About the Ono and Bristol Myers Squibb Collaboration In 2011, through a collaboration agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Ono granted BMS its territorial rights to develop and commercialize Opdivo globally except in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, where Ono had retained all rights to Opdivo except the US at the time. In July 2014, Ono and BMS further expanded the companies’ strategic collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize multiple immunotherapies – as single agents and combination regimens – for patients with cancer in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. About Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. delivers innovative medicines 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 . Reference: 1) Kotani T, et al. Cancer Res. 2020;80:16_Supplement 4443. Contacts Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Corporate Communications public_relations@ono-pharma.com