Exclusive protein licensing agreement
Lilly, Eastern Virginia Medical School and McGill University announce their collaboration
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and McGill University announced today a licensing agreement regarding the discovery of a gene and its related products that could potentially play a key role in treating diabetes more effectively.
Two research teams, led by Dr. Aaron L. Vinik, M.D.,PhD., director of the EVMS Diabetes Research Institute and Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, M.D. Ph.D., director of the McGill Transplantation Surgery Program, and of the Centre for Pancreatic Diseases at the Montreal General Hospital, have identified a new gene whose product appears to stimulate the regeneration of islet cells, which produce insulin in the pancreas and regulate its production to meet the bodys demands.
"We are delighted to collaborate with Eastern Virginia Medical School and McGill University because of our commitment to bring to patients with diabetes the best treatment in the fastest possible way," said Jose F. Caro, vice president of endocrine research for Lilly. "The critical event in the development of diabetes is a reduction of insulin production in the pancreas. The understanding of mechanisms that promote the differentiation and proliferation of the pancreatic islet, the site of insulin-producing cells, could someday dramatically change the way we prevent and treat diabetes. The identification by Drs. Vinik and Rosenbergs team of a protein believed to be involved in the process of islet neogenesis provides exciting new possibilities to test for better ways to treat diabetes."
"Lillys extensive experience in the field of diabetes, coupled with its global leadership position in biotechnology, provides us with an excellent partner for this collaboration," said Vinik. "While our findings are still preliminary and much more research in both animals and humans is needed, the identification of a new gene that influences the number of islet cells could open up answers to the larger problem of why diabetes develops."
Under the terms of the agreement, Eastern Virginia Medical School and McGill University will receive initial fees, milestone payments and royalties on potential product sales. In exchange, Lilly will receive an exclusive license to the gene and its related products and exclusive commercialization rights for any products that result from this agreement.
About 18 million people in the United States and Canada have diabetes, a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, the hormone required to convert food into energy. In Type I, or insulin-dependent diabetes, pancreatic islet cells are destroyed by the bodys immune system and insulin production ceases. In Type II, or non-insulin-dependent diabetes, the pancreas produces insulin but is unable to keep up with the bodys demands or the body is unable to use the insulin it does produce.
The cause of diabetes is unknown, although both genetic and environment are believed to play a role. Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and Canada. In both countries, more than 186,000 people will die this year from diabetes or associated complications, including heart disease and stroke. Health care and related costs for diabetes run nearly $100 billion annually. Diabetes is a chronic disease for which there currently is no cure.
Lilly is a global research-based pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, that is dedicated to creating and delivering innovative pharmaceutical-based health care solutions which enable people to live longer, healthier, and more active lives.
Other contact:
Chuck Applebach (EVMS), 757-446-6050
