Eli Lilly announced it will end development of its experimental cancer drug enzastaurin after it failed a late stage trial. The drug was being tested in lymphoma patients who had a high chance of relapse after chemotherapy treatment. Reuters reported that this will result in a Q2 charge of roughly $30m. Lilly has also halted Phase III trials of rheumatoid arthritis prospect tabalumab due to efficacy concerns. Tabalumab was being tested in three clinical trials. Lilly was testing tabalumab for treatment in patients with refractory and moderate to severe RA. Lilly said they would suspend enrollment in the two other Phase III trials for tabalumab. Lilly will take a charge of $20 million to $35 million as a result of the decision to halt the study, reported pmlive.com.

Deborah Dunsire’s role as CEO of Takeda’s oncology unit Millennium has been eliminated, and the company will integrate Millennium’s oncology R&D unit into the parent company’s global research organization, reported FierceBiotech. Spokeswomen Manisha Pai, added: “Deborah and Yasuchika Hasegawa, President and CEO of Takeda, talked about different career opportunities at Takeda because her current role no longer existed. But when it came down to it, Deborah’s passion was running Millennium, running a fully integrated oncology organization, so she decided to leave the company.” Takeda now plans to call Millennium, “Takeda Cambridge US.”

Irish drugmaker Elan has forked over $1 billion for a share of the royalties on new drugs from Theravance, as it attempts to woo shareholders away from a takeover bid by Royalty Pharma. In the deal, Elan will receive 21% of royalties earned by Theravance from GSK on four respiratory treatments and 20% of that income will be paid directly to Elan shareholders as a dividend. Royalty Pharma offered to buy Elan for $5.7 billion. The company’s board has rejected the bid and advised shareholders not to take action.