Eli Lilly Looks To Enter Oncology Market With New Partner

After signing an elaborate research partnership in April with France's Sanofi SA to codevelop and comarket the oncology drug oxaliplatin in the U.S., Eli Lilly is eager to magnify its presence in the oncology market, Garry Nicholson, director of the company's U.S. oncology division says. Nicholson is optimistic about approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the drug, which is expected to be submitted to the FDA in September or October. Eli Lilly's agreement with Sanofi will entail that both companies jointly submit, register, develop, and market oxaliplatin in the U.S. The agreement helps Sanofi to expand its presence in the U.S. and is a step for Lilly to enter the oncology market, which records 140,000 new cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed each year, according to data from the American Cancer Society. Oxaliplatin is a platinum-based treatment for all forms of colorectal cancer, and is developed and marketed by Sanofi in France and other European countries for first-line treatment of colorectal cancer. Sanofi acquired the license to develop oxaliplatin from a Swiss pharmaceutical company in 1994.