Ono Pharma agrees settlement of litigation raised by Dr Tasuku Honjo

Japanese drugmaker Ono Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4528) closed trading today up 2.4% at 2,464 yen, after announcing that it entered into the settlement agreement with Dr Tasuku Honjo to resolve the litigation raised by him regarding the Osaka District Court 2020 (Wa), No 5608 claiming dividends related to the third-party litigation, following the Court settlement recommendation.

Ono and Dr Honjo highly appreciate their contributions to the discovery of new cancer treatment by inhibiting immunosuppression and the development of the immune-oncology drug, Opdivo (nivolumab) by utilizing the new cancer treatment, and decided to end the litigation by settlement in order to show a new form of industry-academia collaboration in Japan. The settlement agreed this time represents a complete resolution of the disputes between Ono and Dr Honjo, regarding not only the Litigation claiming 26.2 billion yen ($230 million) as dividends related to the third-party litigation concerning the PD-1 patent raised on June 19, 2020, but also "the Agreement on Licensing of PD-1 Gene Patent” concluded between Ono and Dr Honjo on October 23, 2006. The impact on financial results is currently under scrutiny.

Outline of the settlement