SHANGHAI, Nov. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi PharmaTech
(Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: WX) and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY)
today announced that they have entered into a strategic
collaboration to develop, manufacture and commercialize a novel
small molecule in China.
The potential medicine is a novel, once-daily oral agent,
discovered by Lilly, which could address cardiovascular risk in
patients with dyslipidemia, representing an unmet medical need
worldwide. An estimated 276 million patients in China are affected by these conditions,
including about 12 million patients requiring drug treatment. The
potential medicine aims to reduce cardiovascular events in patients
with elevated LDL cholesterol and triglycerides at high risk of
cardiovascular events.
WuXi will be responsible for regulatory, development and
manufacturing activities in China,
which will be led and coordinated by WuXi's Product Development
Service and Partnership (PDSP) Business Unit. The potential
medicine will be manufactured in China by WuXi to support China development.
Lilly will be responsible for commercial activities. The parties
will both invest in bringing this potential new medicine to
patients in China. Further
financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed. An
Investigational New Drug (IND) application will be filed in
China by WuXi, and product
development and registration will be carried out within China.
"We are pleased to collaborate with WuXi to develop this
potential new medicine," said Andrew
Hodge, President of Lilly
China. "This unique collaboration is part of our 'In China,
For China' strategy to leverage Lilly's leading technology and
experience, and local partners' insight and expertise, to meet
patient needs."
"WuXi is delighted to work with Lilly, a world-leading
pharmaceutical company, to develop, register and manufacture this
potential first-in-class therapeutic agent," said Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi PharmaTech.
"This strategic collaboration will leverage the recently announced
China regulatory reforms, which strongly encourage, support, and
accelerate development and manufacture in China of highly innovative new medicines that
target major unmet medical needs."
About WuXi PharmaTech
WuXi PharmaTech is
a leading open-access R&D capability and technology platform
company serving the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical
device industries, with operations in China and the United States. As a
research-driven and customer-focused company, WuXi PharmaTech
provides a broad and integrated portfolio of services throughout
the drug and medical device R&D process. WuXi is also
building a platform to provide clinical diagnostic services
directly to physicians and their patients globally. WuXi
PharmaTech's services are designed to assist its global partners in
shortening the cycle and lowering the cost of drug and medical
device R&D. WuXi PharmaTech's operating subsidiaries are known
as WuXi AppTec. For more information, please visit
http://www.wuxiapptec.com.
About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global
healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life
better for people around the world. We were founded more than a
century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines
that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in
all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover
and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve
the understanding and management of disease, and give back to
communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more
about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and
newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels.
For more information, please contact:
WuXi PharmaTech
Ronald
Aldridge (for investors)
LaVoieHealthScience
+1 617-374-8800 x109
+1 617-792-2459
ron_aldridge@wuxiapptec.com
Aaron Shi (for the media)
Director, Corporate Communications
WuXi PharmaTech
+86-21-5046-4362
aaron_shi@wuxiapptec.com
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SOURCE WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc.