Eli Lilly and Deciphera announce agreement

Eli Lilly and Deciphera Pharmaceuticals have announced a licensing and collaboration agreement to study B-Raf kinase inhibitors for potential use in oncology.

The deal relates to the existing pre-clinical programme from Deciphera and will use the company’s unique phylomechanics platform alongside expertise from Eli Lilly in drug discovery, development and marketing.

Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will collaborate in four project areas using selective or multi-kinase targeted B-Raf inhibitors.

Eli Lilly will pay Deciphera an initial fee and research funding over two years, in addition to up to $130 million (74 million pounds) in potential development, regulatory and sales milestones in each project area.

Dr William W Chin, vice-president of discovery research and clinical investigation for Eli Lilly, said: “This collaboration is further evidence of Lilly’s ongoing commitment to oncology research.”

He added the company is looking forward to cooperating with Deciphera and hopes to develop promising new compounds for the treatment of cancer patients.

Last week, Eli Lilly announced the initiation of the third stage of global testing for LY450139, its potential new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

It said phase III of the programme would involve 1,100 patients from 22 countries.

Phase III of the trial process for the company’s LY450139 a gamma-secretase inhibitor will consist of a real-world dosing simulation of 1,100 patients from 22 countries.