NEWS OF THE WEEK PHARMACEUTICALS
LILLY ACQUIRES PROTEIN COMPANY Applied Molecular Evolution will support a biologies push PRIMO An immunoglobulin G optimized by Applied Molecular Evolution.
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N A MOVE TO BOLSTER ITS BIO-
tech drug discovery and devel opment efforts, Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire protein en gineering and optimization 33* firm Applied Molecular Evolution in a cash and stock deal valued at about $400 million. San Diego-based AME, which applies directed evolution tech niques to screen for optimized proteins, will retain its name and operate as a subsidiary of Lilly Thomas F. Bumol, Lilly's vice president for biotechnology re search, says his company wants
FEDERAL
to keep biotech drugs—includ ing peptides, proteins, and mono clonal antibodies—at 2 0 % of its development portfolio. Lilly had biotech drug sales, including in sulin, of $2.7 billion in 2 0 0 2 , nearly 25% of total sales. Lilly collaborated with AME on five projects over two years, Bumol says, and decided it want ed greater access to AME tech nology "We think it's a great mix with our discovery engine and therapeutic expertise," he adds. Jeffry D. Watkins, chief scien tific officer at AME, claims Lilly will utilize AME's full capacity
R&D
EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS SHARING The Central Receiver Test Facility operated by Sandia National Laboratories is used to develop technology to produce electricity from solar energy.
Report explores federal labs' contribution to local economies
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EDERAL LABORATORIES PRO-
vide economic and educa tional benefits to the com munities and states in which they are located through an array of activities, concludes a report re
1. 2003
leased on Nov. 20 by the Office of Technology Policy of the Tech nology Administration at the De partment of Commerce. T h e report, "Partners on a Mission: Federal Laboratory Practices Contributing to Eco nomic Development," includes the survey results of 28 federal labs. It presents case studies de scribing ongoing developmental activities from seven of the labs and two programs that link busi nesses and federal labs. Among the benefits cited, the report notes that federal labs at tract highly educated individuals to an area and, by adding a re
through work on protein drugs currently in its pipeline. In all, AME has 16 collabora tive drug development projects and seven internal projects in therapeutic areas ranging from cancer to asthma to cocaine abuse. Of these, three projects, developed in collaboration with Medlmmune, are in Phase I and II clinical trials. An AME spokesman says the firm has completed the research component of all its collabora tions with non-Lilly partners and plans now to work exclusively with Lilly Mara Goldstein, an executive director at CIBC World Markets who covers Lilly, says the acqui sition is part of the firm's effort to branch out in biotech beyond in sulin and antibiotics. She cites the sepsis drug Xigris (dotrecogin alfa {activated}), a recombinant version of naturally occurring activated protein C, as a recent success. —RICK MULLIN
search infrastructure, provide incentives for entrepreneurs to come to the area. The labs also work with local schools and col leges, helping to encourage math and science at all education levels. "Just as research universities have long catalyzed economic de velopment in knowledge clusters across our nation, federal labora tories are playing an increasingly important role in promoting re gional growth," wrote Bruce P. Mehlman, former assistant sec retary of commerce for technol ogy at Commerce, in the report's foreword. Federal labs also play a key role in driving innovation, said Phillip J. Bond, undersecretary for tech nology at Commerce, during the report release briefing. "The ul timate advantage for the U.S. in global competition is that Amer icans can innovate." The full report is available on line at http://www. technology. gov/reports/TechPolicy/Partners2003.pdf—SUSAN M0RRISSEY HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
