Amylin/Lilly: Resurrections and Conversions

Resurrections are an old biotech story. Now it's Amylin's happy duty to play the leading role--thanks to a product surprise. Its best known product, Symlin, delayed in the clinic, looks to be a smaller market product for diabetes than AC2993, which could compete with oral medicines. Lilly's signed up for a major deal on the product when its own competitive program failed. The deal itself gets Amylin a true partner's interest in the development and commercial prospects for the drug, but includes some interesting convertibility features that put Amylin at some risk if it doesn't perform.