Given the increasingly complex health care system, we know that patients are seeking more information about diseases and treatments, asking questions, evaluating information, and making choices. We believe that direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising provides many benefits, including raising awareness of diseases and conditions that are often undiagnosed, untreated, or under-treated. As a company responsible for developing new, innovative medicines, we understand we have a duty to provide advertising that is truthful, accurate, and balanced. To that end, we have established the following principles to help serve as a guide when designing and launching DTC communications. These principles were initially adopted in 2001, and they were revised to reflect the August 2005 PhRMA Guiding Principles. Lilly is dedicated to fully abiding by the spirit of these principles, as well as the principles themselves.

  • We will allow for sufficient time to educate physicians and other health care professionals about Lilly medications before advertising them to the public based on specific factors that vary by disease state, including the complexity of the risk/benefit profile and health care professionals’ knowledge of the condition being treated.
  • We will involve patients and health care professionals in the advertisement development process to obtain their perspective and input regarding DTC campaigns. We will also involve the general public where appropriate.
  • We will adhere to FDA standards regarding DTC campaigns, and submit new TV product campaigns to DDMAC prior to broadcast to give the FDA the opportunity to comment. This includes creating product advertising that provides clear, accurate, and responsible information that is fair and balanced on both the benefits and risks associated with the medications, clearly identifying the condition for which it is being prescribed. To that end, we will no longer air broadcast reminder ads (with the exception of sponsorships).
  • We will not knowingly create advertising that contains false, misleading, exaggerated, or unbalanced statements or visuals, and will utilize creative designs that respect the seriousness of health conditions and medicine being advertised.
  • We will create DTC campaigns that reinforce the physician/patient relationship by encouraging patients to seek additional information and guidance from health care providers.
  • We will protect the confidentiality of patient information generated by the DTC campaigns.
  • We will advertise in ways that encourage appropriate use of our products, and include information about the availability of other options such as diet and lifestyle changes, where appropriate for the advertised condition.
  • We will not target our advertising directly to individuals under the age of 18, and will design media plans to achieve an 80 percent adult audience level (90 percent for Cialis) to avoid audiences that are not age-appropriate for the messages involved.
  • We will place our advertisements in media environments that avoid controversial content/programming, respect diversity, and align with our company values.
  • In the spirit of "Answers That Matter," we will provide our customers with feedback mechanisms to express their opinions on the DTC campaigns.