Eli Lilly sets up $75 million VC fund

Eli Lilly has announced the formation of Lilly BioVentures, a venturecapital group which will provide funding to newly-created biotechnology companies. Initially, the entity plans to invest $75 million in early-stage firms. John Lechleiter, executive vice president of pharmaceutical products and corporate development at Lilly, said that many of the new advances by the bioscience industry "are providing important insights into the cause of diseases, leading to unique opportunities to develop breakthrough approaches toward the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of life-threatening illnesses."

Specifically, Lilly BioVentures will make initial investments of up to $5 million in companies developing new or improved platform technologies aimed at accelerating drug discovery and development, or those with "emerging or novel technologies in the biotech or biopharmaceutical field."

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