The agreement adds to the existing pharmaceutical agents focused on targets in oncology and inflammation being developed by the Hutchison MediPharma group for Lilly.
Under the agreement, Hutchison MediPharma will assume primary responsibility for the discovery phase activities necessary for the identification and selection of clinical candidates. In return Hutchison MediPharma will receive from Lilly, an up-front payment, as well as potential fees, discovery and development milestone payments and royalties on worldwide sales of any products resulting from the collaboration.
Samantha Du, chief scientific officer of Chi-Med and CEO of Hutchison MediPharma, said: “Lilly is a global leader in oncology. We enjoy working together, and today’s announcement demonstrates how productive our collaboration has been. We look forward to this expansion of our joint effort to develop innovative drugs for the global market.”