Eli Lilly and Co. announced it is providing more than $4 million in additional funding to the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) to allow a continuation of its early phase drug discovery efforts focused on identifying therapies for tuberculosis, including multi-drug-resistant strains known as MDR-TB.
In addition, Lilly will provide more than $1 million for volunteer time from Lilly scientists and access to the company’s drug discovery expertise, chemical libraries, and research tools.
The additional commitments bring Lilly’s total support of early stage TB drug discovery efforts through IDRI to more than $20 million—and Lilly’s total funding of TB and MDR-TB efforts to more than $170 million.
IDRI is a member of the Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative, a non-profit public-private partnership focused on accelerating early stage drug discovery for potential treatments for TB. The additional funding will allow IDRI to further its early phase drug discovery efforts focused on TB and MDR-TB through 2016.
“Today’s TB drugs are decades old and must be taken for extended periods of time, which present challenges for patients and health care providers. More effective medicines with fewer side effects are desperately needed,” says John C. Lechleiter, PhD, Eli Lilly and Co. chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Release Date: Nov. 17, 2011
Source: Eli Lilly and Co.
