NutritionEli Lilly And Company Announces New Drug Discovery Initiative
Alzheimer"s disease, Cancer, Diabetes, Osteoporosis. These are the diseases for which Eli Lilly and Company will be engaging
researchers from around the world in a new and unique drug discovery
initiative.
The initiative, called the Lilly Phenotypic Drug Discovery Initiative, or
PD2 (pronounced PD-squared)*, uses Lilly-developed disease-state assays and a
secure web portal to evaluate the therapeutic potential of compounds
synthesized in university and biotechnology laboratories. Findings from this
initiative could ultimately form the basis for collaboration or licensing
agreements between Lilly and external institutions.
"Each year, researchers throughout the world design and synthesize
compounds in university and biotechnology laboratories that are never fully
evaluated as potential drug candidates," said Alan D. Palkowitz, Ph.D., vice
president of discovery chemistry research and technologies at Lilly. "There"s
an untapped of ideas and compounds in the greater scientific community
that could ultimately impact patients" lives following further evaluation and
development."
Collaborations between Lilly and external researchers are not new;
however, the PD2 initiative is designed to provide a more convenient point of
entry for global external researchers into Lilly"s drug discovery and
development process. By doing so, PD2 allows for the establishment of
productive relationships with institutions and organizations that may not
previously have worked with Lilly.
"Increasingly, innovation depends on a broad network of relationships
outside our walls," said Palkowitz, adding that PD2 is yet another example of
Lilly"s evolving transformation from a Fully Integrated Pharmaceutical
Company, or FIPCO, to a Fully Integrated Pharmaceutical Network, or FIPNet.
Through the automated PD2 interface, researchers confidentially submit a
structure of their compound for an initial computational evaluation using a
set of proprietary Lilly algorithms focused on drug-like properties and
structural novelty. If the compound structure meets certain specified
criteria, the researcher is then invited to submit a physical sample for
biological testing. All testing by Lilly is free, and all intellectual
property rights remain with the submitting researcher and/or institution at
this stage. An objective of PD2 is not to promote a random, high volume
submission of compounds, but rather to encourage the testing of molecules
that represent novel structural diversity and hypotheses that are
thoughtfully considered in light of the biology associated with each assay
module.
After biological testing is completed, Lilly provides the external
researchers a data report with a complete biological profile of the compound
across the four assay modules mentioned earlier (Alzheimer"s disease, cancer,
diabetes and osteoporosis). Because these data are derived from sophisticated
and systematic in vitro model systems, they provide researchers with broader
assessments of a compound"s biological profile than what is generally
available today in academic or government laboratories, said Palkowitz.
In return for these data, Lilly has first rights to exclusively negotiate
a collaboration or licensing agreement with submitters of those compounds
that demonstrate biological activity that Lilly would like to further
explore. If there is no agreement within a defined time period, the
researcher is granted no-strings-attached ownership of the data report and
can choose to use it in publication or grant proposals, or to further refine
structural hypotheses, all of which may advance scientific discovery.
One of the external experts who consulted with Lilly on the development
and testing of PD2 is Peter Wipf, Ph.D., a distinguished professor of
chemistry and professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of
Pittsburgh. He said that, for researchers not employed at a pharmaceutical
company, the major potential benefits of PD2 include the ability to test
compounds in well-validated assays, the comprehensive nature of the data
reports and the opportunity to exchange ideas and hypotheses with Lilly
experts on compounds of interest.
"I"m looking for drug discovery experts who can critically evaluate the
data on my compounds and engage me in discussing their immediate potential
for optimization and perhaps their ultimate impact on specific areas of human
health with unmet medical need," said Wipf.
The potential benefit for Lilly is increased access to top global
research talent, novel therapeutic hypotheses and rich chemical diversity to
amplify and leverage Lilly"s work and expertise in these areas. "We believe
open collaboration with a network of scientists will create new venues to
deepen our understanding of complex biological processes and eventually to
discover novel therapeutics that benefit patients," said William Chin, M.D.,
vice president of discovery research and clinical investigation at Lilly.
"Ultimately, our hope is that the patient will be the biggest winner of all."
Eli Lilly and Company