Japan-based Ono Pharmaceutical has entered into a research collaboration agreement with UK Dementia Research Institute (DRI), a national institute that dedicates research on dementia, to identify the novel therapeutic targets in the research field of dementia.

In this collaboration, as part of the promotion of the ongoing open innovation, Ono will initiate a multi-year collaborative research with UK DRI to identify novel therapeutic targets related to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of dementia.

Ono will call for research themes focusing on areas of interest such as diseases involving glial cells and neuroinflammation, etc. Ono will also provide funding for selected joint research themes to identify new therapeutic target molecules for the treatment of dementia.

During the research collaboration period, Ono will utilise its expertise and knowledge in the field of neuroscience to drive the joint research. Through the research collaboration, the pharma company will also identify new therapeutic target molecules for various types of dementia and conduct exploratory research to elucidate the mechanisms involved. 

As for such molecules identified through the collaboration, Ono will generate drug candidates against those target molecules and work towards the development and commercialisation of new drugs for the treatment of dementia.