Lilly gets rights to Marcadia's glucagon analogs; Abbott to market Kowa's Livalo in Australia and New Zealand

US drug major Eli Lilly has signed a development and exclusive license agreement for Marcadia Biotech's short-acting glucagon program, covering glucagon analogs that may provide greater convenience and ease-of-use than the current recombinant glucagon for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia. The program includes MAR531, a glucagon analog that is in preclinical development at Marcadia, as well as related backup compounds.

Under the terms of the agreement, Marcadia will continue to oversee development of the compound through regulatory approval in the USA, while Lilly will be responsible for obtaining regulatory approval in countries outside America and for commercialization worldwide. Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

"Glucagon is an important therapeutic for people with diabetes to treat an episode of severe hypoglycemia, but the currently marketed products require reconstitution from a lyophilized (powder) form before administering an injection," said Enrique Conterno, president of Lilly Diabetes. "A new glucagon therapy that can be stored in solution form at room temperature and supplied in a convenient injection device could be an important advance for patients," he added.