Sony and Astellas Pharma Enter into Collaborative Research Agreement
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Sony Corporation and Astellas Pharma announced that they have entered into a collaborative research agreement to discover a novel Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC)* platform in oncology based on Sony’s unique polymeric material, “KIRAVIATM* Backbone*.
Under this agreement, Sony and Astellas will jointly develop and optimise a new ADC platform using the KIRAVIA Backbone as a linker. Furthermore, in order to build a drug discovery platform not limited to ADC, the two companies have agreed to continue discussions on expanding research partnerships to create new value by combining Sony’s cutting-edge technology with Astellas’ renowned pharmaceutical capabilities.
This collaborative research leverages the flexibility in design and resulting properties such as high capacity and solubility of KIRAVIA Backbone as a linker of ADC, to effectively deliver anti-cancer drugs to targeted cells in a stable manner, aiming to further enhance therapeutic efficacy by achieving high Drug-to-Antibody Ratio (DAR) etc.
This partnership will further strengthen the ability to utilise suitable modalities. Through this collaboration, Sony strives to contribute to the medical and drug discovery fields and provide further social value by leveraging Sony’s technological capabilities in the development of anti-cancer drugs therapy.
