Lilly Ends Telios Collaboration

US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has told partner Telios Pharmaceuticals that it is ending its joint collaboration involving research and development of therapeutic products for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Terms of the January 1993 agreement gave Eli Lilly the option to end the collaboration after two years, and Lilly said its commitment to other late-stage product candidates in this therapeutic area warranted a focusing of its resources. Lilly had provided around $1.5 million in each of the last two years to Telios as research funding.

Telios retains all scientific information, including preclinical data, and all rights to the products. The company plans to look for another corporate sponsor to continue the research, which focuses on designing RGD-containing cyclic peptides to inhibit receptors on certain cells that attach to and weaken bone.