Lilly presents research and development progress

Eli Lilly has presented an update to Wall Street regarding its pharmaceutical pipeline development. The company reported a “robust” pipeline of potential pharmaceutical products targeting medical needs currently unmet in the market.

Selected pharmaceuticals currently in phase III development presented include enzastaurin, a prospective treatment for brain cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, prasugrel, a treatment for acute coronary syndromes and arzoxifene, a potential osteporosis treatment and potential reducer of breast cancer risk.

Steven M Paul, executive vice president of science and technology at Lilly, noted that the company had invested over $1 billion (509 million pounds) into its biotechnology research and development pipeline during the decade with “impressive” results.

“Lilly currently markets eight biotech products,” he said, “Bioproducts comprise fully one-third of our pipeline, with candidates targeting cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, diabetes, inflammation and chronic kidney disease.”

He added that the company aimed to expand its pipeline while reducing costs per-compound by a third.

In October, Lilly announced the results of a new study showing the achievement of a faster onset of platelet inhibition at higher levels in patients administered with prasugel when compared to those taking clopidogrel.

Prasugel is an investigational oral antiplatelet agent co-developed by Lilly and Sankyo, a subsidiary of Daiichi Sankyo.