Lilly CEO Says Industry, Public Policy Must Pave Way For Innovation

LONDON, Feb. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — A new approach to research, along with
public policies that support medical innovation, will help biopharmaceutical
companies address stubborn diseases with potentially devastating personal and
financial consequences, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, according to
John Lechleiter, Ph.D., chairman, president and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company
(NYSE: LLY).

Lechleiter made his remarks Thursday in London during a keynote address at The
Economist’s 2011 Pharma Summit: Reinventing Pharma for a New Generation. During
his talk, Lechleiter said two imperatives are needed to secure the future of the
research-based pharmaceutical industry: changing the way companies conduct
research, and public policies that promote an environment in which medical
innovation can flourish.

The burden of several diseases is soaring in many countries, including the U.K.

According to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, for instance, more than 800,000
people in the U.K. are directly affected by dementia at a cost of 23 billion
pounds Sterling per year.

And yet, just when the world desperately needs more new medicines for diseases
like Alzheimer’s, “our industry is taking too long, we’re spending too much, and
we’re producing far too little,” Lechleiter told the audience.

Lechleiter said the case for biopharmaceutical research and new medications is
compelling. Specifically, he noted that:

— Innovative medicines have proven themselves time and again to be the
most effective way to reduce costs and improve quality in health care.
— Treatments for diseases that remain unconquered, like cancer and
Alzheimer’s, most likely will come from laboratories of
biopharmaceutical companies.
— Even diseases that are being treated today, like diabetes, require
better solutions.
“Ironically, the crisis in our innovation model comes at a time when we have
vastly more scientific knowledge and data than ever before,” Lechleiter said.
“But unless we change the way we do research, we won’t translate this knowledge
into advances for patients. In the face of diminishing results, we can’t simply
perform the same old rituals and hope for a different outcome.”

Specifically, Lechleiter stressed the need for research-based pharmaceutical
companies to be more networked, global, and entrepreneurial to bring innovative
medicines to patients faster and at lower costs. Such a global network is
enabling Lilly to strengthen its own R&D capabilities, while attracting
molecules, funding, and expertise from partners – creating shared investment,
risk, and reward, along with greater efficiencies.

Lechleiter said the new approach to research will be successful only if matched
with regulations that support an environment of innovation.

“Even as we rebuild our R&D engine, we must build an environment where
pharmaceutical innovation can thrive,” he said. “As pressures on health care
systems around the world continue to grow, we will continue to make the case
that innovation is imperative, and to advocate for reforms that promote
innovation rather than penalize it.”

Currently, government leaders in the U.K. are debating health care reform
options to ease the stress on tightening budgets. Lechleiter said the new
approach to research will be successful only if matched with regulations that
support an environment of innovation.

Biopharmaceutical research, Lechleiter said, has also preserved jobs in the U.K.
and other developed countries. In the U.K., there are 72,000 direct jobs in the
biopharmaceutical sector and 200,000 indirect jobs. At 12 million pounds each
day, the biopharmaceutical industry invests more in R&D than any other sector in
the U.K.

Equally important have been the medical advances: in the U.K. alone, average
life expectancy increased by 30 years from 1901 to 1999.

“Indeed, encouraging medical innovation needs to be a key purpose of health care
reforms in both the United States and the United Kingdom,” Lechleiter said. “We
must continually make the case for innovation through our words, but more
importantly, through our actions and the value we bring to patients through
innovative medicines.”

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing
portfolio of pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its
own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific
organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers -
through medicines and information – for some of the world’s most urgent medical
needs. C-LLY

SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company