Eli Lilly Announces Two Oncology Development Partnerships

June 17, 2015

Eli Lilly and Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI) announced a partnership to co‑develop an investigational oncology compound, LY3023414, a PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitor. SCRI will collaborate with Lilly to provide clinical development expertise and program design, as well as medical oversight and trial management. Patient enrollment for the initial Phase II clinical trial is underway, according to a press release.

The partnership supports the development of this novel targeted cancer therapy, including flexible and efficient program design and implementation, as well as more rapid patient enrollment to clinical trials by accessing SCRI's large network of patients, the release said.

"Through partnerships like this one, we can accelerate the time it takes to bring clinical trials into communities for those fighting cancer," said Dee Anna Smith, CEO of SCRI.

In other news, Eli Lilly and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced a multiyear collaboration to research new medicines under development to fight cancer.

"Working together is the most powerful approach in fighting cancer," said Richard Gaynor, M.D., senior vice president, product development and medical affairs, Lilly Oncology. "Lilly's partnership with Dana-Farber demonstrates an open, collaborative research approach—uniting the expertise of the pharmaceutical industry with that of a leading academic cancer research institution."

Per the agreement, over the course of three years Dana-Farber will provide research and development expertise for a number of early-stage Lilly oncology compounds. Dana-Farber researchers and Lilly scientists will work collaboratively on preclinical and clinical studies, molecular studies of patient samples and the design and conduct of clinical trials, which may result in important advances in the science of cancer care. The agreement also allows Dana-Farber scientists to conduct independent studies on select Lilly compounds. Following research conducted at Dana-Farber, the evaluated compounds will still be fully owned by Lilly.

"This is a new kind of collaboration between a comprehensive cancer center and a large pharmaceutical company," said Barrett Rollins, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Dana-Farber. "Under this agreement, Lilly can access the expertise within Dana-Farber to help it develop multiple preclinical and clinical compounds. Together, we can bring compounds to clinical trials and to FDA approval quickly and efficiently, and thus benefit our patient population."