Lilly says programme will help find new compounds

Lilly has suggested there is an untapped source of ideas and compounds in the scientific community that could be used to improve patients’ lives.

Vice-president of the company’s discovery chemistry research and technologies Dr Alan D Palkowitz made this comment after the Lilly Phenotypic Drug Discovery Initiative was announced.

Also known as PD2 (pronounced PD-squared), the firm hopes to engage researchers from around the world, with the aim to work with organisations the business has not dealt with before.

Scientists can submit structures of their compounds to be evaluated by Lilly – and if they meet certain criteria, the investigator will be asked to provide a physical sample for biological testing.

A data report will then be completed, which will look at the new product’s effectiveness at treating Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis.

The company will have first rights to exclusively negotiate a licensing agreement of the compound but the intellectual property rights stay with the research or institute.

Meanwhile, Lilly announced an advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration has granted Zyprexa (olanzapine) a positive recommendation for the treatment of schizophrenia, manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adolescents.