Eli Lilly & Co. has returned rights to the novel oral Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor LY3337641 (also known as HM71224) it had licensed in from originator Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. in 2015, in a move that was partly expected after the US giant decided to halt its Phase II trial of the molecule last year due to what it saw as weak data.
“After undertaking a thorough assessment of other development opportunities, including re-evaluation of all available clinical data, Lilly has elected to return LY3337641/HM71224 to Hanmi Pharmaceutical,”