http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/010207/n07249142.html

Wednesday February 7, 9:04 am Eastern Time

MIAMI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Ivax Corp. (NYSE:IVX - news) said on Monday that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY - news) to develop and market a treatment for seizure disorders called talampanel.

Ivax said the treatment, an AMPA receptor antagonist, has shown positive results in Phase II clinical trials in patients with severe epilepsy not responsive to other drugs. Phase III trials in epilepsy will be done to confirm and expand these results, the firm said.

Ivax officials said in a release that the worldwide market for drugs to treat seizures was $3 billion in 2000.

"Talampanel is a molecule designed to target the AMPA receptor because of its clear relationship to progressive neurological diseases such as epilepsy, Parkinson's Disease, and multiple sclerosis," Dr. Phillip Frost, chairman and CEO of Ivax, said.