The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) has been awarded more than $4 million in additional funding over the next four and a half years by Eli Lilly. The funding will support IDRI’s continued early phase drug discovery research, which focuses on the identification of effective new therapies in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), including multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

IDRI is a member of the Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative, a unique not-for-profit public-private partnership founded in 2007. Combining the efforts of government agencies, philanthropic organizations, pharmaceutical companies, universities, and other research institutions, the Initiative aims to accelerate early stage drug discovery in the search for new TB treatments. This additional $4.2 million in funding brings Eli Lilly’s total support of early stage TB drug discovery efforts through IDRI to $20 million.

"While preventable and treatable, nearly 1.5 million people die from TB and MDR-TB every year," said John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., Eli Lilly chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Today's TB drugs are decades old and must be taken for extended periods of time, which present challenges for patients and health care providers. More effective medicines with fewer side effects are desperately needed."

Philip Hipskind, senior research fellow at Eli Lilly said, “Through the Initiative, we have forged strong links with IDRI’s scientists with the aim of leveraging the unique drug discovery capabilities of each organization.”