Pharmaceutical giant shifts Alzheimer's research funding to University of Southern California

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly says it will shift research funding from UC San Diego to the University of Southern California to test an experimental Alzheimer's drug — a blow to UCSD in its fight for control of a project to fight the disease.

The two schools have filed dueling lawsuits over the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, a nationwide project of clinical trials.

The Los Angeles Times reports (http://lat.ms/1MMwCqN) Indiana-based Lilly said Tuesday that USC will get an undisclosed amount of money the firm had planned to give UCSD. The money will go toward further testing of the medication solanezumab, which might help patients who show early evidence of Alzheimer's disease but have no outward symptoms.

The study is a public-private partnership funded by Lilly, the National Institutes of Health and philanthropic organizations.

___

Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/