Eli Lilly signs new oncology and inflammation partnership agreement

Eli Lilly has assigned a drug discovery and development agreement focused on candidate compounds in the fields of inflammation and oncology with Hutchinson MediPharma R&D, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa backed pharmaceutical firm Chi-Med.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will pay Hutchison MediPharma an initial sum, in addition to annual research and development (R&D) support fees and possible discovery and development landmark payments ranging.

These sums range from $20-29 million (10.1-14.7 million pounds) for each drug candidate, with additional royalties on any global sales of the drugs, though detailed financial terms of the deal have not been made public.

Dr William W Chin, vice-president of discovery, research and clinical investigation at Lilly, said: “Lilly is pleased to partner with Hutchison MediPharma on this groundbreaking initiative.

“Hutchison MediPharma is clearly a leader in China’s R&D arena.”

He added that the firm had exhibited its research talents through an earlier pilot initiative, displaying its ability to successfully advance molecules from Lilly.

In November 2006, Hutchison MediPharma signed a partnership agreement with Merck KGaA, with the firms combining their research efforts for the discovery of novel anti-cancer medication for the control of oncological pathways using compounds derived from natural products.