Lilly partner with Alizé Pharma on diabetes

Alizé Pharma has entered into a collaboration and license option agreement with Eli Lilly & Co over a development programme for agonists to be used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Under the terms of the deal, Lilly will pay an undisclosed upfront fee and both companies will collaborate on Alizé's AZP-01 project. As a result, Lilly will be granted an exclusive option to license the programme in accordance with predefined terms.

Alizé Pharma president and founder, Thierry Abribat said: "We are very pleased with this first agreement with Lilly, a recognised leader in the field of diabetes."

"This collaboration will put our UAG programme on the best possible track. It gives us access to Lilly's proven expertise in developing first-in-class molecules, while leveraging our resources and remaining totally in line with our business plan," he continued.

The AZP-01 programme aims at developing unacylated ghrelin (UAG) agonists, a new potential therapeutic class for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Philip J Larsen, chief scientific officer for diabetes research at Lilly said: "As part of our commitment to remain leaders in diabetes care, we look forward to launching this research collaboration with Alizé on this promising new target, and working together to validate the therapeutic potential of drugs in this class."

The Alizé Pharma Group, based in France, is made up of privately-held biopharmaceutical companies who specialise in the development of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of metabolic diseases and cancer. The group handles preclinical and clinical development and establishes partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry via codevelopment or out-licensing agreements.