Lilly’s Venture Strategy Matures As PoC Data Catalysts Approach

Eli Lilly & Co.’s venture investment experiment is beginning to bear fruit. The company has partnered with two health care investment firms, which have raised $250 million to put into single molecule-focused startups, Lilly’s VP-Corporate Business Development Darren Carroll said Sept. 25 during Elsevier’s Pharmaceutical Strategy Conference (PSA 2013) in New York.

The big pharma first unveiled plans to invest in multiple venture funds to support the development of early-stage drugs in 2010, but then went quiet on the project, offering little...