With Lilly Out, Amylin’s Future Is Tied To <em>Bydureon</em>

With Lilly Out, Amylin’s Future Is Tied To Bydureon

30 Nov 2011

With the unwinding of its once-lucrative nine-year partnership with Eli Lilly, Amylin Pharmaceuticals now carries all the risk – and all the reward – of its exenatide franchise for diabetes. With sole ownership of its exenatide franchise, Amlyin now has the freedom to seek a lucrative partnership or opt to sell the company outright to a large pharma seeking an edge in a growing diabetes market.

With the unwinding of its once-lucrative nine-year partnership with Eli Lilly & Co., Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. now carries all the risk – and all the reward – of its exenatide franchise for diabetes. [See Deal]] Sales of its flagship exenatide formulation Byetta, once an $800 million drug, are on the decline; meantime, Amylin’s potential launch of successor Bydureon next year is shaping up as a make-or-break moment for a company that has bet the farm on a single compound. With sole ownership of its exenatide franchise, Amlyin now has the freedom to seek a lucrative partnership or opt to sell the company outright to a large pharma seeking an edge in a growing diabetes market.

Until this spring, Lilly and Amylin were a strong team. Partners since 2002, the pair launched the once-daily injectable GLP-1...