Chi-Med in drug discovery and development agreement with Eli Lilly

Hutchison MediPharma R&D, the subsidiary of Chi-Med, the Hutchison Whampoa backed pharmaceutical and healthcare group, has entered into a drug discovery and development agreement with Eli Lilly and Company.

Under the agreement, Lilly and Hutchison MediPharma will initially collaborate on the discovery and development of pharmaceutical agents focused on targets in oncology and inflammation. Hutchison MediPharma will assume primary responsibility for the discovery phase activities necessary for the identification and selection of several clinical candidates and Lilly will be responsible for ongoing technical advice and the subsequent Investigational New Drug filing and clinical development of these candidates.

Hutchison MediPharma will receive from Lilly an upfront payment and annual r&d support fees, as well as potential discovery and development milestone payments depending on the candidate of up to US$20-29m per candidate, and potential royalties on worldwide sales of any commercialised products resulting from the collaboration.

In the event that Lilly exercises its option not to move forward with a candidate, Hutchison MediPharma will itself be able to take the findings and continue with the candidate.

"At Hutchison MediPharma, we aim to discover and develop innovative medicines to meet global market needs with big pharma quality, biotech speed and China's attractive cost base," said Dr Samantha Du, chief scientific officer for Chi-Med and managing director of Hutchison MediPharma.

"Hutchison MediPharma is clearly a leader in China's r&d arena. It has demonstrated its r&d quality through a successful pilot programme conducted with Lilly," added Dr William W. Chin, vice president of discovery research and clinical investigation for Lilly. "We believe Hutchison MediPharma has the strategic interest and capabilities to advance these Lilly molecules."