Starpharma and Lilly sign new drug delivery collaboration

Starpharma (ASX:SPL) announced today it has signed an agreement with U.S.-based Eli Lilly and Company, which will use Starpharma's dendrimer drug delivery technology in its human pharmaceutical line.

Dendrimers are synthetic molecules that can be built from the ground up to have specific chemical properties and can be used for the production of pharmaceuticals.

As a part of the agreement Lilly will fund a collaborative research and development programme with the aim of creating improved drugs using dendrimer technology, which will then be commercialised by Lilly.

Starpharma already has an agreement with Lilly, signed in May 2009, for the development of animal health products.

Starpharma (ASX:SPL) experienced a strong year in 2010, rising 231%, and is trading at 73c as of midday, up 2.8% for the day.