Nobel laureate demands higher cancer drug royalties from Ono Pharma

2018 winner in medicine plans to renegotiate contract for blockbuster Opdivo

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Kyoto University professor Tasuku Honjo, left, speaking about his royalty payments for the revolutionary cancer drug Opdivo.

TAKEFUMI KAWAGUCHI and TATSURO MIYAZUMI, Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- A Japanese Nobel laureate is demanding more money for his role in developing the breakthrough cancer treatment Opdivo, saying Wednesday that co-developer Ono Pharmaceutical should pay him a higher percentage of profits than in their 2006 contract.

Tasuku Honjo, a Japanese immunologist, identified a protein found in immune cells called programmed death receptor 1, or PD-1, in 1992. Soon after that discovery, he began negotiations with Ono Pharmaceutical to turn the finding into a cancer therapy, which would become Opdivo.

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