Ligand Earns $1.5 Million Milestone Payment as Lilly Advances Novel PPAR Modulator into Phase II Studies for Diabetes
Friday March 21, 9:25 am ET
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 2003--Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: LGND - News) has earned a $1.5 million milestone payment from Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY - News) as a result of Lilly's advancing into Phase II studies LY818, a novel, potent, oral, once-daily peroxisome proliferation activated receptor (PPAR) modulator for the treatment of type II diabetes and metabolic diseases.
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LY818 was discovered through the ongoing research collaboration between Lilly and Ligand. PPARs are a subfamily of intracellular receptors that regulate glucose and lipid homeostasis. They play a key role in enhancing cellular responses to insulin, and in fat tissue stores and metabolism.
"Lilly's decision to move the first of a series of distinct PPAR modulators into Phase II studies is an important milestone toward commercializing products with enhanced activity and broader therapeutic profiles for the treatment of type II diabetes," said Andres Negro-Vilar, M.D., Ph.D., Ligand's senior vice president for research and development and chief scientific officer. "Lilly's decision further underscores the productivity of our research collaboration and the extraordinary progress we have made in the field. We have developed a broad platform of compounds with distinct receptor specificity and tissue selectivity for the treatment of diabetes, dyslipidemias and associated cardiovascular disorders."
The Lilly-Ligand collaboration, which began in 1997, has advanced two other PPAR modulators into clinical studies. LY929, for the treatment of type II diabetes, metabolic diseases and dyslipidemias, entered clinical development in mid-2002. LY674, for the treatment of dyslipidemias, entered clinical development in late 2002. Lilly and Ligand also maintain an active preclinical development program, and plan to advance additional product(s) into clinical studies during the course of 2003.
Under the terms of the collaboration, Ligand receives research funding from Lilly. Lilly is responsible for the development and registration of any products resulting from the collaboration, and pays Ligand milestone payments as products move through the development process. Lilly has exclusive worldwide marketing rights to products resulting from the research, and will pay Ligand royalties on sales of products that make it to market. If LY818 is successfully marketed, Ligand will receive additional milestone payments, plus royalties. |
