The focus of LCRDC is on the discovery of new diabetes medicines with novel mechanisms of action to delay the progression of the disease.
The new R&D center employs approximately 150 scientists and hires staff primarily from China, the company said.
LCRDC site head and general manager, China Research vice president Bei Betty Zhang said the research community needs to better understand the genetic and environmental factors that underlie the epidemic so that we may discover medicines that address these factors.
"At the Lilly China Research and Development Center, we will explore innovative ways to address this unmet patient need, such as targeting pathways involved in disease pathophysiology and partnering with the Chinese academic network to investigate unique features of diabetes in Chinese patients, with the goal of discovering breakthrough treatments," Zhang added.