Nicholas Piramal signs contract with Eli Lilly

New Delhi, Feb 17 (UNI) Nicholas Piramal India Ltd (NPIL) said it has signed an agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to develop and market a select group of Eli Lilly's pre-clinical drug candidates that span multiple therapeutic areas.

Under the deal, NPIL and Eli Lilly will independently carry out early clinical development of two different drug candidates for the same target to boost the chances of success, an official release said.

NPIL Research&Development Ltd (NRDL) NRDL's compensation, based on a pre-agreed formula, can total up to 110 million dollars in call-back payments and milestones, plus royalties on sales.

Talking about this second new drug development agreement with Eli Lilly, NPIL Director, Strategic Alliances&Communications, Dr Swati Piramal 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.'' Nicholas Piramal last year began working on Eli Lilly's drug candidate for metabolic disorders in exchange for certain milestone payments.

UNI PDT MP BD1138