Lilly, Zydus Cadila Launch R&D Pact

Zydus Cadila and Eli Lilly & Co. will collaborate to discover drugs in a program that will span up to six years. Lilly will provide Zydus a new target in the area of cardiovascular disease. In turn, Zydus will conduct initial drug discovery work, lead identification and optimization, and preclinical studies and clinical trials up to Phase II.

One of India's largest drug companies, Zydus Cadila is headquartered in Ahmedabad in the northwest Indian state of Gujarat. While its main business is the manufacturing and distribution of generic drugs in finished form, Zydus Cadila also conducts research activities aimed at discovering new drugs and bringing them to market.

Zydus Cadila is distinct from Cadila Pharmaceuticals, another drug company based in Ahmedabad. The two companies used to be one but split more than a decade ago.

Under its agreement with Zydus, Lilly will retain the rights to license any of the molecules emerging from the research collaboration. Lilly will pay Zydus as much as $300 million in milestones and royalties if a product is successfully launched.

In recent years, Lilly has collaborated in research with a number of companies around the world. It already has agreements similar to the one with Zydus with Shanghai's Hutchison MediPharma (C&EN, Dec. 1, 2008, page 26) and India's Piramal Healthcare (C&EN, Jan. 22, 2007, page 18).