Eli Lilly and Co. has opened the Lilly China R&D Center (LCRDC), which aims to discover new diabetes medicines with novel mechanisms of action that can be tailored specifically for the Chinese population to delay the progression of the disease. LCRDC will explore the differences in the genetic makeup of Asian patients, which may also play a role in diabetes development and progression.  The LCRDC employs approximately 150 scientists and staff hired primarily from China, and is the latest in a series Lilly R&D investments.

To support the LCRDC, Lilly and Covance have announced a new agreement to establish a diabetes discovery partnership in China. Covance’s wholly-owned entity in China will provide the LCRDC with a range of services, including pharmacology studies, pharmacokinetic screening and other preclinical research to test and evaluate potential new diabetes medicines. The partnership in China is aligned with the global strategic alliance between Lilly and Covance, and will focus primarily on diabetes.

“Conquering a devastating disease like diabetes requires innovation, collaboration and investment. The establishment of the Lilly China R&D Center demonstrates we are serious about discovering and developing desperately needed breakthrough medicines for Chinese people with diabetes,” said Jan M. Lundberg, Ph.D., executive vice president, science and technology, and president, Lilly Research Laboratories. “We will do this by looking at diabetes in new and different ways and through collaborations with local academic research centers and partners that enable us to link Lilly scientists with scientists in China.”