LONDON - Protherics plc has agreed to a deal worth an initial US$5million with Eli Lilly and Co. for Protherics' Factor Xa inhibitor program for the treatment of thrombosis. This is the company's first deal since it was formed in September by the merger of Proteus International and Therapeutic Antibodies Inc.

CEO Andrew Heath told BioWorld International, "Since the merger, we have refocused, and this concentration of effort has lead to the deal with Lilly. This is our first deal with a top-10 company and an important validation of our computer modeling technology."

Lilly has bought the rights to several compounds in a series from which it intends to select a clinical candidate. Heath said this would take around a year. The $5 million covers initial license fees, research funding for two years and milestone payments. Heath said the deal could be worth between $25 million and $40 million up to commercialization.

Protherics has also developed a series of orally bioavailable tryptase inhibitors, using its computer-aided modeling system, and Heath said these are now ready for licensing in asthma and skin allergies.

In addition, the company is looking for a partner for its CytoTAb polyclonal antibody, following a successful Phase IIb study in sepsis. Given the high-profile and expensive failures in that indication, Heath said he would not expect to get a large up-front payment. "But I'm absolutely convinced of the value of anticytokines in sepsis, and believe we will get someone to take this up."

Protherics had #11.9 million on Sept. 30. It has since run up merger costs of almost #2 million, including closing facilities in the U.S. and in London and cutting head count by 71 to 135. Heath said the deal with Lilly would "certainly improve our cash position." The company has already flagged that it may need to raise more money before the end of 2000. Whether or not it needs to do so depends on when it gets approval for CroTAb, an anti-rattlesnake venom under review by the FDA.

Heath is also looking to build Protherics through acquisitions. "To get attention, you have to be in the FTSE 250 [the Financial Times Index of the 250 leading shares]. That's a couple of acquisitions away." n