Eli Lilly and Company Announces New Drug Discovery Initiative
June 15 2009 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Goal is to foster open collaboration between Lilly and global
laboratory researchers INDIANAPOLIS, June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Alzheimer's disease. Cancer. Diabetes. Osteoporosis. These are
the diseases for which Eli Lilly and Company will be engaging
researchers from around the world in a new and unique drug
discovery initiative. The initiative, called the Lilly Phenotypic
Drug Discovery Initiative, or PD2 (pronounced PD-squared)*, uses
Lilly-developed disease-state assays and a secure web portal to
evaluate the therapeutic potential of compounds synthesized in
university and biotechnology laboratories. Findings from this
initiative could ultimately form the basis for collaboration or
licensing agreements between Lilly and external institutions. "Each
year, researchers throughout the world design and synthesize
compounds in university and biotechnology laboratories that are
never fully evaluated as potential drug candidates," said Alan D.
Palkowitz, Ph.D., vice president of discovery chemistry research
and technologies at Lilly. "There's an untapped source of ideas and
compounds in the greater scientific community that could ultimately
impact patients' lives following further evaluation and
development." Collaborations between Lilly and external researchers
are not new; however, the PD2 initiative is designed to provide a
more convenient point of entry for global external researchers into
Lilly's drug discovery and development process. By doing so, PD2
allows for the establishment of productive relationships with
institutions and organizations that may not previously have worked
with Lilly. "Increasingly, innovation depends on a broad network of
relationships outside our walls," said Palkowitz, adding that PD2
is yet another example of Lilly's evolving transformation from a
Fully Integrated Pharmaceutical Company, or FIPCO, to a Fully
Integrated Pharmaceutical Network, or FIPNet. Through the automated
PD2 interface, researchers confidentially submit a structure of
their compound for an initial computational evaluation using a set
of proprietary Lilly algorithms focused on drug-like properties and
structural novelty. If the compound structure meets certain
specified criteria, the researcher is then invited to submit a
physical sample for biological testing. All testing by Lilly is
free, and all intellectual property rights remain with the
submitting researcher and/or institution at this stage. An
objective of PD2 is not to promote a random, high volume submission
of compounds, but rather to encourage the testing of molecules that
represent novel structural diversity and hypotheses that are
thoughtfully considered in light of the biology associated with
each assay module. After biological testing is completed, Lilly
provides the external researchers a data report with a complete
biological profile of the compound across the four assay modules
mentioned earlier (Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes and
osteoporosis). Because these data are derived from sophisticated
and systematic in vitro model systems, they provide researchers
with broader assessments of a compound's biological profile than
what is generally available today in academic or government
laboratories, said Palkowitz. In return for these data, Lilly has
first rights to exclusively negotiate a collaboration or licensing
agreement with submitters of those compounds that demonstrate
biological activity that Lilly would like to further explore. If
there is no agreement within a defined time period, the researcher
is granted no-strings-attached ownership of the data report and can
choose to use it in publication or grant proposals, or to further
refine structural hypotheses, all of which may advance scientific
discovery. One of the external experts who consulted with Lilly on
the development and testing of PD2 is Peter Wipf, Ph.D., a
distinguished professor of chemistry and professor of
pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. He said
that, for researchers not employed at a pharmaceutical company, the
major potential benefits of PD2 include the ability to test
compounds in well-validated assays, the comprehensive nature of the
data reports and the opportunity to exchange ideas and hypotheses
with Lilly experts on compounds of interest. "I'm looking for drug
discovery experts who can critically evaluate the data on my
compounds and engage me in discussing their immediate potential for
optimization and perhaps their ultimate impact on specific areas of
human health with unmet medical need," said Wipf. The potential
benefit for Lilly is increased access to top global research
talent, novel therapeutic hypotheses and rich chemical diversity to
amplify and leverage Lilly's work and expertise in these areas. "We
believe open collaboration with a network of scientists will create
new venues to deepen our understanding of complex biological
processes and eventually to discover novel therapeutics that
benefit patients," said William Chin, M.D., vice president of
discovery research and clinical investigation at Lilly.
"Ultimately, our hope is that the patient will be the biggest
winner of all." For more information on PD2, please log onto
pd2.lilly.com. * NOTE: PD2 is pronounced PD-squared. About Lilly
Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a
growing portfolio of pharmaceutical products by applying the latest
research from its own worldwide laboratories and from
collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered
in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers - through medicines
and information - for some of the world's most urgent medical
needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at
http://www.lilly.com/. C-LLY (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090615/DE31904 ) (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO )
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090615/DE31904DATASOURCE: Eli
Lilly and Company CONTACT: Judy Kay Moore, Eli Lilly and Company,
+1-317-277-6265
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