Covance and Lilly enter into a strategic r&d collaboration
US drug development services provider Covance has signed a definitive agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to help transform Lilly\'s r&d model.
US drug development services provider Covance has signed a definitive agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to help transform Lilly's r&d model.
Under the agreement, Covance will acquire Lilly's 450-acre early drug development campus in Greenfield, Indiana, for US$50m (Euro 32.3m) and will offer employment to about 260 Lilly employees. An additional 225 Lilly employees currently based in Greenfield will move to Lilly sites in Indianapolis. Covance will assume ownership of the site and operations on or about 1 October, 2008.
In addition, Covance will provide Lilly with a broad range of drug development services over the next 10 years in a contract valued at $1.6bn ( €1.03bn). Under this agreement Lilly will transfer responsibility to Covance for its non-GLP toxicology, in vivo pharmacology, quality control laboratory, and imaging services. In addition, the contract includes a committed level of clinical pharmacology, central laboratory, GLP toxicology studies, and clinical Phase II-IV services.
Covance currently conducts significant preclinical toxicology and early-stage clinical work for Lilly. This collaboration, which also includes expanded early-stage clinical work and Phase II/III clinical trial support, will help Lilly to lower drug development costs and speed the flow of new medicines.
"The announcement represents an innovative approach to the r&d productivity challenges our pharmaceutical clients are facing," said Joe Herring, Covance chairman and ceo. "We are very excited to welcome world-class Lilly scientific talent to Covance, and to take possession of valuable state-of-the-art assets, including more than 600,000ft2 of laboratory space, and acquire new service lines that will help us accelerate our long-term, strategic growth plans.
"Covance will invest in this facility and maximise its capacity utilisation by conducting substantial work with Lilly and bring in new work from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients."
In addition to the Covance arrangement, Lilly will transfer its clinical trial monitoring work in the US and Puerto Rico to pharmaceutical services company Quintiles, and the majority of its data management work in the US to i3, a full-service, global clinical research organisation.
