Dewpoint Therapeutics Inc. and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. have entered a research collaboration worth up to $480 million to advance Dewpoint’s novel TDP-43 small-molecule condensate modulator for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Under terms of the deal, Boston-based Dewpoint will receive an undisclosed up-front payment and is eligible to receive R&D-based milestone payments up to $480 million. Upon reaching those milestones, Osaka, Japan-based MTPC will have an exclusive option to license the program and assume responsibility for global clinical development and commercialization. Dewpoint will also receive tiered royalties on net sales.

The collaboration will combine Rondo’s proprietary CD28 co-stimulatory platform with Lilly’s drug development and commercialization expertise to develop co-stimulatory bispecific antibodies to treat solid tumors.

Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has entered into a drug discovery collaboration agreement with Congruence Therapeutics Inc. to generate novel small-molecule correctors against multiple protein targets in the oncology area.

Ipsen SA and Biomunex Pharmaceuticals SAS have signed an exclusive global licensing agreement for BMX-502, a preclinical novel T-cell engager with potential for solid tumors. BMX-502 is a bispecific antibody that engages and activates mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells and targets the GPC3 tumor antigen, to kill cancer cells.

The collaboration aims to identify a small molecule that targets mutant androgen receptor (AR) mRNA splicing and causes selective destruction of the disease-causing mRNA.

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. has signed a licensing and collaboration agreement with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. to obtain exclusive global rights to multiple clinical, preclinical and discovery-stage programs for rare genetic diseases of the muscle, central nervous system (CNS) and the lungs. The deal includes ARO-DUX4, ARO-DM1, ARO-MMP7 and ARO-ATXN2.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd. has established a new collaboration with UK Biobank to create the world’s first comprehensive, large-scale epigenetic dataset. The project will utilize Oxford Nanopore’s DNA/RNA sequencing technology to map the epigenome of 50,000 blood samples from UK Biobank to unlock insights into disease mechanisms, with the aim of improving patient outcomes.