Yabao Pharmaceuticals Enters Innovative Partnership with Eli Lilly and Company to Develop Diabetes Treatment

BEIJING, July 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Yabao Pharmaceutical Co, Inc. (Shanghai Stock Exchange 600351), a leading pharmaceutical company in China, today announced a strategic partnership with Eli Lilly and Company to co-develop Lilly's leading glucokinase activator (GKA), LY2608204. Lilly's GKA has completed Phase 1 studies in the US in addition to extensive pre-clinical development.

Diabetes is a disease of great unmet need in China and worldwide. Glucokinase activators have the potential to differentiate from other anti-diabetic agents by exerting two potentially beneficial actions: promoting insulin secretion and decreasing glucose production by the liver. As a result, glucokinase activators may exert powerful anti-hyperglycemic effects, even in patients who are relatively unresponsive to other oral drugs.

Under the terms of the agreement, Yabao receives rights to develop and commercialize the GKA compound in China while Lilly retains rights in all other markets. The parties will collaborate to determine a strategic development plan for China, and Yabao will initially be responsible to perform and fund all development, with Lilly having future buy-in options for China. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Lilly's GKA is an optimized molecule with potential to be best-in-class. Yabao is pleased to be collaborating with Lilly, a global leader in diabetes, to progress the program to its ultimate potential." commented Dr. Peng Wang, President R&D, Yabao Pharmaceutical Co.,  "This ground-breaking partnership with Lilly is an important sign of Yabao's growing commitment to partner the best science and leverage Yabao's strong clinical and regulatory capabilities to bring novel pharmaceuticals to patients suffering from serious diseases in China."

About Yabao Pharmaceutical Co.

Yabao Pharmaceutical Co. (Shanghai Stock Exchange 600351) is a leading China pharmaceutical company with fully-integrated development, manufacturing, and commercialization in China. Yabao is recently pursuing strategic development of innovative pharmaceuticals in addition to Yabao's well-established business in modern traditional Chinese medicines and chemical generics. In addition to strong clinical and regulatory capabilities, Yabao has strong capabilities in formulation and API production and meets good manufacturing practice (cGMP) requirements with a manufacturing site approved by US FDA and another by European agency. For more information about Yabao Pharmaceutical Co., please visit www.yabao.com.cn.

CONTACT:

Ms. Weina Liu
+86-10-5808-6285
liuweina@yabaoyaoye.com

SOURCE Yabao Pharmaceutical Co, Inc.