INDIANAPOLIS and MINNEAPOLIS, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Eli
Lilly and Company (NYSE:
LLY) and Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:
MDT) today announced they have entered into a collaboration to
research and develop a new approach to treating Parkinson’s disease
that involves delivering a potential new medicine to the
brain using an implantable drug delivery system. The goal of the
collaboration is to develop a therapeutic approach for Parkinson’s
disease that combines the strengths of Lilly’s biologic, a modified
form of glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), with
Medtronic’s implantable drug infusion system technology.
“We believe we have biosynthetically engineered this GDNF
variant to overcome technical hurdles of previous research in this
area and are hopeful that early testing of our biologic with
Medtronic’s device will provide the necessary data to safely
advance into human studies,” said Michael L. Hutton, Ph.D., chief
scientific officer of the neurodegeneration team at Lilly. “By
collaborating with Medtronic from the earliest phase of research,
we are maximizing the potential for this therapy’s efficient and
effective development.”
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition caused by
progressive loss of neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, a
chemical messenger responsible for transmitting signals that allow
for coordination of movement. As a result, patients with
Parkinson’s disease experience balance problems, tremors and
muscular stiffness, among other symptoms which worsen over time.
It is estimated that 7 million to 10 million people worldwide
are living with Parkinson’s disease(i) and there is no cure. Around
the world, April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month.
Applying its expertise in biotechnology, Lilly has designed its
GDNF variant with th
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