Lilly partners Chi-Med subsidiary in drug discovery

Lilly has announced it is to partner with a Chi-Med subsidiary to undertake drug discovery and development.

The agreement will see the company and Shanghai-based drug research and development organisation Hutchison MediPharma studying oncology-related pharmaceuticals, adding to existing targets being developed.

Additionally, the discovery phase activities necessary for the identification and selection of clinical candidates will be overseen by Hutchison MediPharma.

Lilly will pay an up-front amount, along with fees, discovery and development transactions and royalties on worldwide sales that would result from the collaboration.

Chief scientific officer of Chi-Med and chief executive of Hutchison MediPharma Samantha Du described the partnered-company as a “global leader in oncology”.

She added: “We enjoy working together and today’s announcement demonstrates how productive our collaboration has been. We look forward to this expansion of our joint effort to develop innovative drugs for the global market.”

In other news, Lilly has presented an $11.1 million (7.2 million pounds) cheque to the United Way of Central Indiana.

Funded by the company’s employees and retirees in the US, the Lilly Foundation added a matching amount.

Based in Indianapolis, US, Lilly has products marketed in 143 countries and employs 40,217 people worldwide.