Alzheimer’s disease.Cancer. Diabetes. Osteoporosis. These are the diseases for which Eli Lilly and Company will be engagingresearchers from around the world in a new and unique drug discoveryinitiative. The initiative, called the Lilly Phenotypic Drug Discovery Initiative, orPD2 (pronounced PD-squared)…, uses Lilly-developed disease-state assays and asecure web portal to evaluate the therapeutic potential of compoundssynthesized in university and biotechnology laboratories. Findings from thisinitiative could ultimately form the basis for collaboration or licensingagreements between Lilly and external institutions. “Each year, researchers throughout the world design and synthesizecompounds in university and biotechnology laboratories that are never fullyevaluated as potential drug candidates,” said Alan D. Palkowitz, Ph.D., vicepresident of discovery chemistry research and technologies at Lilly. “There’san untapped source of ideas and compounds in the greater scientific communitythat could ultimately impact patients’ lives following further evaluation anddevelopment.” Collaborations between Lilly and external researchers are not new;however, the PD2 initiative is designed to provide a more convenient point ofentry for global external researchers into Lilly’s drug discovery anddevelopment process. By doing so, PD2 allows for the establishment ofproductive relationships with institutions and organizations that may notpreviously have worked with Lilly. “Increasingly, innovation depends on a broad network of relationshipsoutside our walls,” said Palkowitz, adding that PD2 is yet another example ofLilly’s evolving transformation from a Fully Integrated PharmaceuticalCompany, or FIPCO, to a Fully Integrated Pharmaceutical Network, or FIPNet.Through the automated PD2 interface, researchers confidentially submit astructure of their compound for an initial computational evaluation using aset of proprietary Lilly algorithms focused on drug-like properties andstructural novelty. If the compound structure meets certain specifiedcriteria, the researcher is then invited to submit a physical sample forbiological testing. All testing by Lilly is free, and all intellectualproperty rights remain with the submitting researcher and/or institution atthis stage. An objective of PD2 is not to promote a random, high volumesubmission of compounds, but rather to encourage the testing of molecules thatrepresent novel structural diversity and hypotheses that are thoughtfullyconsidered in light of the biology associated with each assay module.After biological testing is completed, Lilly provides the externalresearchers a data report with a complete biological profile of the compoundacross the four assay modules mentioned earlier (Alzheimer’s disease, cancer,diabetes and osteoporosis). Because these data are derived from sophisticatedand systematic in vitro model systems, they provide researchers with broaderassessments of a compound’s biological profile than what is generallyavailable today in academic or government laboratories, said Palkowitz.In return for these data, Lilly has first rights to exclusively negotiatea collaboration or licensing agreement with submitters of those compounds thatdemonstrate biological activity that Lilly would like to further explore. Ifthere is no agreement within a defined time period, the researcher is grantedno-strings-attached ownership of the data report and can choose to use it inpublication or grant proposals, or to further refine structural hypotheses,all of which may advance scientific discovery. One of the external experts who consulted with Lilly on the developmentand testing of PD2 is Peter Wipf, Ph.D., a distinguished professor ofchemistry and professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University ofPittsburgh. He said that, for researchers not employed at a pharmaceuticalcompany, the major potential benefits of PD2 include the ability to testcompounds in well-validated assays, the comprehensive nature of the datareports and the opportunity to exchange ideas and hypotheses with Lillyexperts on compounds of interest. “I’m looking for drug discovery experts who can critically evaluate thedata on my compounds and engage me in discussing their immediate potential foroptimization and perhaps their ultimate impact on specific areas of humanhealth with unmet medical need,” said Wipf. The potential benefit for Lilly is increased access to top global researchtalent, novel therapeutic hypotheses and rich chemical diversity to amplifyand leverage Lilly’s work and expertise in these areas. “We believe opencollaboration with a network of scientists will create new venues to deepenour understanding of complex biological processes and eventually to discovernovel therapeutics that benefit patients,” said William Chin, M.D., vicepresident of discovery research and clinical investigation at Lilly.”Ultimately, our hope is that the patient will be the biggest winner of all.”