NPIL Research & Development Ltd (NRDL), an independent company recently demerged from Nicholas Piramal India Ltd (NPIL) and Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) have signed a second new drug development agreement to develop and, in certain regions, commercialise a select group of Lilly's pre-clinical drug candidates that span multiple therapeutic areas.
The new NRDL-Lilly alliance generally follows the framework established by the earlier agreement between NPIL and Lilly, signed on January 12, 2007, and continues the rationale of seeking to increase productivity in drug development by synergising the unique strengths of both companies and equitably sharing risk and reward. However, the second agreement includes an innovative structure that may improve the probability of success of the programme.
In this new agreement, both NRDL and Lilly will independently carry out early clinical development of two different candidate compounds directed against the same target. Following the evaluation of the data from the Proof-of-Concept studies, one or more of the drug candidates may be selected for further development. NRDL's compensation, based on a pre-agreed formula, could total up to $110 million in call-back payments and milestones, plus royalties on sales.
Commenting on the second collaboration agreement, Dr. Somesh Sharma, CEO, NRDL, said: "We are indeed pleased that Lilly has chosen to partner with us another of their lead compounds for pre-clinical and clinical development. It not only strengthens our pipeline of products, but also confirms our capabilities for discovering and developing drugs for worldwide markets."
Dr. Swati Piramal, director, strategic alliances & communications, NPIL, said, "We are strengthening our R&D collaboration with Eli Lilly as our first agreement is on track and has seen benefits accruing to both partners in terms of cost, quality and time. These partnerships are a win-win for both companies and will help us to reduce the burden of human disease."
"This additional collaboration with Nicholas Piramal is a prime example of the innovative risk sharing relationships that Lilly is building around the globe as we implement our strategy of becoming a fully-integrated pharmaceutical network, or FIPNet", said Robert W. Armstrong, PhD., vice president, Global External Research and Development, Lilly. "In the case of NRDL, we have made good progress over the past year and look forward to continued success in our combined drug development efforts."