Monsanto’s ownstudies, as well as those of EliLilly & Co., have found a 10-fold increasein IGF-1 levels in the milkof cows who have beeninjected with bovine growth hormone (BGH).
EliLilly and Co. has bought the rights to the gene's products, although any drug is probably five years away from being marketed -- if it wins approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals , a San Diego-based biotechnology company focused on diabetes, announced that EliLilly has signed on to co-promote one of its lead drugs.
That won't stop many analysts from speculating that the real purpose of the Medco divestment is to create a massive war chest that Merck will use to buy new drugs--or perhaps to merge with another drug firm like Schering-Plough (nyse: SGP - news - people), with which it co-promotes several drugs, or EliLilly (nyse: LLY - news - people).