LILLY R&D AGREEMENT WITH SPHINX PHARMACEUTICALS focuses on discovery and development of therapeutics based on Sphinx' research into protein kinase C, Durham, N.C.-based Sphinx said Nov. 4. Under terms of a four-year deal signed Nov. 1, Lilly will provide unspecified funding to Sphinx to develop inhibitors and activators of PKC and has made a $ 4 mil. equity investment in the privately-held startup. Sphinx' research focuses on "lipid second messengers," intracellular messengers that transmit messages from "first messengers," such as hormones, to their target within the cell. PKC is a family of intracellular enzymes "recently shown to regulate key cellular functions involved in cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disorders and cancer," Sphinx said. The research involved in the collaboration is "early stage," Lilly noted. Neither company would project when a compound might be ready for clinical trials. Lilly will have rights to develop and market any compounds for central nervous system diseases, cardiovascular diseases, renal diseases, immunological diseases, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, septic shock and diabetes. Sphinx will retain rights to PKC compounds for dermatologic and ocular diseases, cancer, infectious diseases and respiratory disorders. Sphinx will receive milestone payments and royalties, the company said. Lilly has been an active investor in early stage research in recent years. The first deal was with Athena for Alzheimer's research, which Lilly recently extended ("The Pink Sheet" Oct. 21, p. 11). Lilly entered an agreement with Glycomed for anti- restenotic compounds in January 1990 ("The Pink Sheet" Jan. 15, 1990, In Brief) and contributed a $ 4 mil. equity stake and about $ 2 mil. in research funding in 1990, according to Glycomed's initial public offering prospectus. In June, 1990, Lilly teamed up with Toronto-based Allelix for CNS research. In May, Lilly made a $ 4 mil. equity investment in COR Therapeutics and agreed to support its platelet aggregation inhibitor research for not less than $ 1.4 mil. per year. No compounds covered by the deals are yet in clinicals, Lilly said. Preclinical research on Glycomed's anti-restenosis compound GM1077 was presented at the Biomedical Business International Conference on New Frontiers in Cardiovascular Research Nov. 14 following the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Anaheim, California. COR's IIb/IIIa platelet aggregation inhibitor C68-22 was the subject of a poster presented Nov. 11 at the AHA meeting. Sphinx was founded in 1987 by two Duke University researchers: Robert Bell, PhD, now chairman of Sphinx' scientific advisory board, and Carson Loomis, PhD, now VP-research. The company's chairman is former Glaxo President and CEO Joseph Ruvane. President and CEO Clayton Duncan has a background in venture capital. The company has raised over $ 11 mil. in venture capital, Sphinx said, with investors including SmithKline Beecham's venture fund S.R. One.
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