Almac and Lilly Partner on Companion Diagnostic Development

15-SEP-09 - Almac and Lilly UK have entered into a partnership to develop a companion diagnostic for ALIMTA, with cisplatin, as a combination therapy for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.


The study focuses on evaluating Thymidylate Synthase (TS) as a predictive marker of response to Alimta in combination with cisplatin. A number of parallel exploratory analyses will be performed as alternative strategies to identify further potentially novel predictive biomarkers of response to the combination therapy. These include global gene expression profiling from FFPE tumour samples using the Almac Diagnostics Lung Cancer DSA™ research tool... Almac's Press Release -

Lilly : Study Showed ALIMTA (pemetrexed for injection) Improved Survival in Certain Types of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

May 28, 2008 - The type of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients have may now influence their treatment regimen and, in turn, survival outcome according to the results of a major study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Publication of the study was announced by Eli Lilly and Company.
The 1,725-patient study, the largest Phase III clinical trial in the first-line NSCLC setting, evaluated ALIMTA(R) (pemetrexed for injection) plus cisplatin versus GEMZAR(R) (gemcitabine HCl for injection) plus cisplatin, a standard of treatment in this setting. The trial met its primary endpoint of non-inferiority relative to overall survival... Lilly's Press Release -

Lilly's ALIMTA : European Approval for Histologically-Based Use in First-Line Treatment of Most Common Lung Cancer

Apr 11, 2008 - Approval Marks Third European Indication for ALIMTA

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced that European health authorities have approved the use of ALIMTA® (pemetrexed for injection) for a histologically-based use in the first-line treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of lung cancer. This approval - the third for pemetrexed in Europe - follows an initial positive opinion issued by the European Medicines Agency's (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on February 21, 2008.

The EMEA specifically approved pemetrexed in combination with cisplatin as a first-line treatment for NSCLC patients with other than predominantly squamous cell histology. Histology is the microscopic study of tissue and NSCLC is classified by its histology. Previously, all histologies were treated similarly... Lilly's Press Release -

Lilly : US$4.4 Million to the WHO for MDR-TB Program Expansion

Mar 12, 2008 - Eli Lilly and Company announced its four-year grant of US$4,384,000 to the World Health Organization (WHO) for scaling up its global capacity to manage multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) programs.

The grant covers four activities, starting with the technical assistance the WHO will provide to developing countries that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria operations do not cover. The WHO will provide assistance to some 25 countries in their clinical management of MDR-TB, infection control, laboratory facilities and community outreach. Second, the WHO will conduct workshops for health care personnel so they can better design and manage TB programs, for laboratory technicians so they can test for first and second line drug susceptibility, and for administrative personnel to record and report on TB incidence in their countries. A third component is support for training global MDR-TB experts so they can expand training in developing countries, run workshops in infection control, and strengthen laboratories for proper diagnosis and treatment. Finally, the grant will support the field-testing and evaluation of a new information system to record and report on MDR-TB rates in two countries... Lilly's Press Release -

Lilly, ALIMTA® (pemetrexed for injection) for First-Line Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer submitted in Europe

Sept 20, 2007 /- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced that it has submitted an application with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for centralised review of ALIMTA® (pemetrexed for injection), in combination with cisplatin, for the first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)... Lilly's Press Release -