Eli Lilly terminates diabetes drug licence deal

Eli Lilly has terminated a licensing agreement with Taisho, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, for an investigational diabetes treatment.

Taisho had developed a dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitor called TS-021, designed to treat type two diabetes. The drug had been undergoing phase I trials but Lilly decided to terminate the agreement because it deemed that certain criteria had not been met.

Originally, the companies agreed in July 2005 to enter an agreement that would give Lilly worldwide rights to develop and market TS-021 outside of Japan and China, while Taisho would manufacture the bulk of the drug.

Despite Lilly’s withdrawal, Taisho said that the sales potential of the drug “could be significant” due to the rising number of diabetics across the world.

A statement from the Tokyo-based company read: “Taisho will nevertheless continue development of TS-021 in Japan by itself, and Taisho’s affiliate company, Taisho Pharmaceutical Research and Development, will pursue the development outside Japan.”

Recently, at least two drug companies have withdrawn the development of new therapies for type two diabetes.

In May, AstraZeneca cancelled the development of Galida after it was found that it offered little improvement over existing therapies, while Bristol-Myers Squibb pulled muraglitazar, a drug developed with Merck Sharp and Dohme, because the drug required further safety trials to ensure regulatory approval.

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