On behalf of The Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative, the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Academia Sinica, a research institution based in Taiwan, to collaborate in target-based screening for the discovery of new tuberculosis (TB) drugs. The Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative's most important goal is filling the pipeline for faster, future TB drug development.

In recent years the incidence of TB, especially multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), has increased alarmingly. The 2009 World Health Organization (WHO) report on TB states that globally there were an estimated 9.27 million incident cases of TB in 2007. This is an increase from 8.3 million cases in 2000 and 6.6 million cases in 1990.

By signing the MOU, Academia Sinica agrees to join The Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative, among whose primary members are Eli Lilly and Company and IDRI. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the US National Institutes of Health also has an agreement with Eli Lilly and Company and IDRI to participate in the TB Drug Discovery Initiative. Academia Sinica will join the initiative as a Contributing Member and will contribute to the research, development and discovery of new TB drugs.

Even under the best of circumstances, 30 to 40 per cent of XDR-TB cases are untreatable. Treating TB, like HIV, requires a cocktail or combination of drugs, not just one. Thus there is an urgent need for multiple new drugs. TB drug development is so complex that no single company or institution has the resources or expertise to do it alone.

"The Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative is founded on the belief that public-private partnerships make the impossible possible," said Gail Cassell, Lilly's vice president of scientific affairs and distinguished research scholar. "The addition of Academia Sinica to these efforts is significant. To have Dr Chi-Huey Wong, president of Academia Sinica and one of the most outstanding chemists in the world, on our Steering Committee will provide invaluable guidance to our efforts."

"I am pleased that Academia Sinica has the opportunity to participate in this important project," said president Chi-Huey Wong of Academia Sinica. "I hope that we can make contributions in the areas related to genome sequencing and high-throughput drug discovery."

"The Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative has made good progress and we are excited to welcome Academia Sinica as a contributing member," said Curt Malloy, senior vice president of operations and general counsel at IDRI. "Their proprietary library of more than two million compounds adds critical chemical diversity, and their access to some of the world's most advanced technologies in high-throughput screening and genomic sequencing enhances our chances for success."

The Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative is a not-for-profit public-private partnership with a mission to accelerate early-stage drug discovery by bringing together specialists from around the world for the systematic exploration of vast, private molecular libraries in search of new TB treatments.

Academia Sinica, the most preeminent academic institution in Taiwan, was founded in 1928 to promote and undertake scholarly research in sciences and humanities, and to nurture new talent.

IDRI is a Seattle-based not-for-profit organization committed to applying innovative science to the research and development of products to prevent, detect and treat infectious diseases of poverty.