Lilly and AstraZeneca gang up on Merck in Alzheimer's

Eli Lilly is to pay AstraZeneca up to $500m in development and regulatory milestone payments, the first $50m of which could be due in the first half of 2015, under a new deal to jointly develop and commercialize AstraZeneca's AZD3293. The oral beta secretase cleaving enzyme (BACE) inhibitor is currently in early clinical development as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease.