Lilly and Gene Logic link up for ‘abandoned’ drug development

Eli Lilly has entered into a new collaboration with Gene Logic to make use of safe drug compound candidates that have been discontinued or deprioritised.

Gene Logic will research alternative development pathways for aborted Lilly drugs that have shown a good safety record in clinical trials, something the company describes as a “novel” way for a pharmaceutical company to strengthen its pipeline.

The terms of the agreement are similar to a typical in-licensing deal for drugs currently in development, whereby milestone fees and royalty payments will be made, although Lilly’s contribution in developing the compounds will be discounted.

Gene Logic intends to use a multiple technology approach in providing a “comprehensive picture” of the drug’s biological activities to reveal potential new therapeutic uses for the drugs.

Mark Gessler, chief executive officer of Gene Logic, remarked: “We are very pleased to have Lilly as our fourth major pharmaceutical partner.”

“The goal of our program is to provide partners with substantial value – clearly this message is resonating with large pharmaceutical companies and is establishing Gene Logic as a leader in drug repositioning,” he added.

Gene Logic started up in 1994 and purchased its drug repositioning programme from Millenium Pharmaceuticals in 2004.