Scil Proteins GmbH, Ono Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd. Establish Affilin Therapeutics Discovery and Development Collaboration

HALLE, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Scil Proteins GmbH, a private biotech company specializing in the research, development and production of recombinant proteins, today announced that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan), for the joint discovery and development of new Affilin® therapeutics to treat various diseases. Initially, Scil Proteins will identify and select Affilin®molecules directed against certain target(s) provided by Ono.

Under the terms of the agreement, Scil Proteins will select and characterize Affilin® candidates from the Company’s proprietary libraries for further development and commercialization by Ono. In addition to research funding, Scil Proteins will receive milestone payments for research, development and commercialization and is eligible for royalties. By entering this collaboration, both parties expect to fully exploit the therapeutic potential of Affilin®molecules, highly stable ubiquitin-based proteins that bind targets with high affinity and specificity, and low immunogenicity.

“This collaboration with Ono is an important commercial milestone for Scil Proteins, which further affirms the technical and scientific concepts behind our Affilin® platform”, commented Henning Afflerbach, Scil Proteins’ CBO. “We are pleased to have successfully implemented our fully integrated offering of providing proprietary, fully patent-protected compounds in combination with production process development and GMP manufacturing into a cutting-edge collaborative research with a leading pharmaceutical company. Ono established outstanding scientific and developmental expertise, and we are now excited to be able to collaborate with a global R&D opinion leader in specific targets.”

Kazuhito Kawabata, Ph.D., Member of the Board of Directors, Executive Officer and Executive Director, Discovery and Research of Ono said: “We strongly believe that Scil Proteins is the partner of choice to identify proteins binding the target molecule(s) we chose. We are pleased to be working together and look forward to creating innovative drugs for unmet medical needs.”

About Scil Proteins

Scil Proteins is a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing Affilin® molecules and working with industry partners in the development and manufacture of protein therapeutics and diagnostics. Affilin® therapeutics and diagnostics are highly stable proteins with a high affinity for target molecules and little immunogenicity. Scil Proteins has built a pipeline of Affilin®therapeutics targeting cancer. In addition, the Company has a longstanding expertise in protein production and process development and, therefore, offers GMP contract biomanufacturing to its clients in the biotech and pharma industries. With state-of-the-art equipment and a particular expertise in refolding proteins, the Company has an excellent track record in supplying top level support for its partners. Scil Proteins has supported a number of different companies such as Roche, Actavis and Lundbeck in process development and manufacturing of recombinant protein drugs. Scil Proteins is a well-established private company located in Halle, Germany.

To learn more about Scil Proteins, please visit www.scilproteins.com.

About Ono Pharmaceutical

Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is an R&D-oriented pharmaceutical company specialized in creating innovative medicines for the treatment of various indications with unmet medical need at the frontline of healthcare. The Company focuses on drug discovery leads that are high in certainty and globally-competitive, promoting alliances with biopharmaceutical companies in the US and Europe as well as research collaborations with universities and other research institutions. Ono’s drug discovery efforts focus on the therapeutic application of bioactive lipids and enzyme inhibitors in the areas of inflammation, autoimmune disease, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and CNS disorders. The Company’s strategic partnerships are not solely directed towards the discovery of new drug candidates, but also include international in-licensing agreements (e.g. Merck & Co. Inc. in the USA) to strengthen Ono’s ever-expanding development pipeline. Ono already manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of prescription pharmaceuticals targeting a wide range of indications such as Alzheimer’s disease, type II diabetes, osteoporosis, chemotherapy-induced nausea and bronchial asthma. Ono is a firmly established pharmaceutical company, headquartered in Osaka, Japan and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange since 1963. For more information about Ono, visit the company’s website at www.ono.co.jp.

Contact:

Scil Proteins GmbH

Dr. Ulrike Fiedler

CEO

t: +49 (0) 345 27 99 63 31

e: ulrike.fiedler@scilproteins.com

or

College Hill

Dr. Robert Mayer

Account Director

College Hill Life Sciences

t : +49 (0) 89 5238 8030

e: robert.mayer@collegehill.com

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