Bend Research Signs License Agreement With Eli Lilly and Company

BEND, Ore., Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bend Research Inc. (www.bendresearch.com), a leading independent drug-formulation development and manufacturing company, announced today that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bend Research will make its proprietary spray-dried dispersion (SDD) technology available to Lilly. This technology, which improves the bioavailability of compounds with low aqueous solubility, has been applied successfully to hundreds of compounds at various stages of development, from preclinical studies to Phase III clinical trials. Lilly formulators and scientists will also have broad access to Bend Research's portfolio of other drug-delivery technologies.

In addition, as part of an already existing agreement with Lilly, Bend Research will continue to provide formulation, development, analytical, engineering and manufacturing services to Lilly to support its preclinical and clinical development programs.

"This expansion in our relationship with Lilly is a great milestone for us," said Rod Ray, Chief Executive Officer of Bend Research. "Our teams work well together and have a shared commitment to bring the best new medicines to caregivers and patients. We believe this collaboration will add significant value to Lilly's research efforts and help them advance their compounds more quickly and efficiently."

About Bend Research Inc.

For more than 35 years, Bend Research has worked with clients to create value by advancing new medicines that improve human health and to solve their most difficult scientific and technical problems. This success is based on the company's ability to develop, advance, and commercialize pharmaceutical technologies, which grow from a solid base of scientific and engineering fundamental understanding.

Bend Research provides formulation and dosage-form support, assists in process development and optimization, manufactures clinical-trial quantities of drug candidates in its cGMP facilities, and advances promising drug candidates from conception through commercialization. Bend Research is a leader in novel formulations, including SDDs and hot-melt extrusions, and controlled-release, inhalation, and biotherapeutics technologies.

Bend Research has more than 240 employees based in four state-of-the-art facilities in Bend, Ore., USA. For more information about Bend Research, please contact Phoenix Ivers via email at Phoenix.Ivers@BendResearch.com, by phone at 541-382-4100 or 800-706-8655, or visit our website at www.bendresearch.com.

SOURCE Bend Research Inc.