About Ono Pharma Foundation
The Ono Pharma Foundation concentrates its giving on high‑impact biomedical and chemical biology research through a named competitive awards program (the "Ono Pharma Breakthrough Science Initiative"). Grants are directed to leading research universities and institutes to support individual investigators and labs pursuing cutting‑edge discovery science, with several repeat awards to prominent PIs and institutions. The foundation favors translational/basic science at top U.S. research centers rather than community nonprofits or service provision.
Focus Areas
Breakthrough basic and chemical-biology research via investigator awards (Ono Pharma Breakthrough Science Initiative)Funding early- to mid-career principal investigators at top research universitiesSupport for biomedical discovery at major research hubs (Stanford, Harvard/Broad, Salk, Scripps, UCSF)Competitive program-based grants aimed at novel therapeutic/biological mechanisms
Who They Fund
biomedical researchersacademic research teams / universitiesearly-career investigators
About Ono Pharma Foundation
The Ono Pharma Foundation uses its named Ono Pharma Breakthrough Science Initiative Awards Program to back high-risk, high-reward chemical biology research at research universities and institutes. Recent awards include repeated support for Stanford University investigators, such as Dr Elizabeth Sattely and Dr Bianxiao Cui, as well as multiple awards to The Scripps Research Institute and the Broad Institute of Harvard & MIT. The program is built around individual principal investigators and lab-based projects, not general operating support or community services. Award sizes in the recent record are anchored at $172,500 and $345,000, with three-year projects described in the active program summary as intended to generate discoveries that could lead to breakthrough treatments. The foundation’s recent pattern shows several investigators and institutions receiving awards more than once, suggesting continuity with selected research teams over time. Its grantmaking is national and concentrated in major U.S. biomedical research centers rather than in the foundation’s New York headquarters. The recent grants also point to a consistent emphasis on early- to mid-career scientific work at leading universities. Grants have gone to Harvard, Northwestern, the University of California system, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, and Boston College, all through the same competitive awards structure.
What Ono Pharma Foundation Funds
Chemical biology is the clearest throughline in the foundation’s giving. The active Ono Initiative supports projects in drug delivery and localization, biomolecular condensates and protein quality control, chemical glycobiology, and interactome or cell/tissue crosstalk. Individual awards show how that focus is applied. Stanford University received $345,000 for Dr Elizabeth Sattely and $172,500 for Dr Polly Fordyce under the program. Harvard University also appears in the recent record, with $345,000 for Dr Jerad Mason and $172,500 for Dr B Liau. The foundation also funds discovery science at institutes known for biomedical research. The Scripps Research Institute received $345,000 for Michael a Erb and $172,500 for Dr Mia Huang, while the Broad Institute of Harvard & MIT received $345,000 for Dr Xiao Wang.
How Ono Pharma Foundation Gives
Recent awards cluster at two amounts: $172,500 and $345,000, with the program summary setting a broader range of $300,000 to $1,035,000 for the initiative. The grant list shows repeat awards to the same investigators and institutions across multiple years, including Stanford, Scripps, Harvard, Boston College, Northwestern, and the Broad Institute. That points to a program that revisits prior awardees rather than one-time-only support. The foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF or individual-grantmaker, and it does not make program-related investments. Its competitive awards program does not accept unsolicited applications.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3M
Total Assets
$11.8M
Total Revenue
$505K
Total Expenses
$3.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $173K and $345K, with a median of $173K.
25th Percentile
$173K
Median
$173K
75th Percentile
$345K
Geographic Reach
National5 states funded
About 0% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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