Adolor buys rights to Eli Lilly drug

Adolor buys rights to Eli Lilly drug, plans studies on opioid bowel dysfunction

• On 5:38 pm EDT, Monday September 21, 2009

EXTON, Pa. (AP) -- Biotechnology company Adolor Corp. said Monday it bought exclusive worldwide rights to Eli Lilly & Co.'s OpRA III drug candidate, which has a range of potential uses.

Adolor will pay $2 million upfront to Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly, along with future royalties and milestone payments potentially worth $70 million.

Adolor said it initially intends to develop the drug candidate as a potential opioid bowel dysfunction treatment and will start clinical trials in early 2010. The condition normally refers to chronically constipated patients taking opioid pain drugs.

Shares of Adolor rose 1 cent to close at $1.66 while shares of Eli Lilly closed unchanged at $32.86.