Lilly Dedicates North Carolina R&D Facility

Sphinx Pharmaceuticals, a division of Eli Lilly and Co., has dedicated its new state-of-the-art research facility in Research Triangle Park, NC. The $40 million, 150,000-sq. ft. high-tech facility triples the size of Sphinx's previous laboratories in Durham, NC and will enable Sphinx to meet the research challenges of the new millennium.

Representatives of Eli Lilly and Co. and Sphinx, along with state and local officials—including the Honorable James B. Hunt Jr., governor of North Carolina—were invited to attend the dedication ceremonies.

Sphinx, which currently employs approximately 170 people, was founded in 1987 by scientists at Duke University and acquired by Lilly in 1994. Lilly's interest in Sphinx originated from their successful collaboration to study molecular forms of an enzyme called protein kinase C (PKC), which appeared to play a role in the complications of diabetes. Sphinx is now responsible for developing and conducting combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening for Lilly to identify and develop novel pharmaceutical therapies.

For more information: Eli Lilly & Co., Lilly Corporate Center, 307 East McCarty Street, Indianapolis, IN 46285-1513, USA. Telephone: 317-276-2000. Fax: 317-277-2095.