November 2002

FDA Approves Strattera, Forteo for U.S. Patients on Historic Same Day

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued two approvals in one day for two Lilly drugs - for Strattera®, (atomoxetine HCI), the first-FDA approved treatment that is not a stimulant under the Controlled Substances Act. Strattera is approved for use in children, adolescents and adults. On the same day, the FDA also approved FORTEO™ for (teriparatide [rDNA origin] injection) for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women at high risk of bone fracture. It also is approved for men with primary or hypogonadal osteoporosis, who are at a high risk of fracture. FORTEO (teriparatide [rDNA origin] injection. Forteo is the first in a new class of new drugs called bone formation agents that work primarily to stimulate new bone by increasing the number and action of bone-forming cells called osteoblasts.

November 2002

Cialis Approved by the European Commission for the Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction

Lilly ICOS LCC announces that the European Commission has granted a marketing authorization for Cialis™ (tadalafil), an oral PDE5 inhibitor for the treatment of erectile dysfunction for all 15-member states of the European Union. Lilly ICOS LLC, a joint venture between ICOS Corporation and Eli Lilly and Company, is developing tadalafil for the treatment of sexual dysfunction.

March 2002

Lilly Launches LillyAnswers, a Program for Millions of Senior Citizens Without Prescription Drug Coverage

To assist those seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in Medicare, who most need help in purchasing vital prescription drugs, Eli Lilly and Company has created the LillyAnswers® patient assistance program. The program allows low-income seniors without prescription drug coverage who meet the program's eligibility requirements to pay a flat fee of $12 for a 30-day supply of an Lilly retail drug.

February 2002

Xigris Named 'Best New Medicine' in 2001 by Med Ad News

Xigris®, approved for the treatment of severe sepsis in adults at high risk of death, has been selected as the "Best New Medicine" in 2001 by Med Ad News, a leading U.S. pharmaceutical news magazine.

November 2001

Lilly Received FDA Approval to Market Xigris for Severe Sepsis

Eli Lilly and Company announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Xigris®, a breakthrough biotech therapy. Xigris is approved for the reduction of mortality in adult patients with severe sepsis (sepsis associated with acute organ dysfunction) who have a high risk of death (e.g., as determined by APACHE II).

August 2001

Prozac Patent Expires

A storied chapter in the Eli Lilly and Company history book closed on Aug. 8, 2001, as the patent expired on the breakthrough drug Prozac, (fluoxetine hydrochloride) the antidepressant medication that forever changed the treatment of depression worldwide.

May 2001

Eli Lilly and Company Celebrates Its 125th Anniversary

On May 10, 2001, Eli Lilly and Company celebrates 125 years of innovation. Breakthroughs such as mass production of the first polio vaccine, and the development of a medicine that fights depression so effectively that it has changed the way the world views mental illness, stands as signature achievements in the company's 125-year history.

March 2001

FDA Grants Priority Review of Lilly's Drotrecogin Alfa (Activated) for Treatment of Severe Sepsis

Eli Lilly and Company announces that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research granted a priority review of drotrecogin alfa (activated) for the treatment of severe sepsis in adults. Under the priority review process, the FDA will take action within a six-month timeframe versus the 12-month timeframe with a standard review. The FDA grants priority reviews for compounds that represent significant advances over existing treatments.

January 2001

Lilly Announces Multi-Million Dollar Expansion of U.S. Marketing and Global Team Facilities

Eli Lilly and Company announces a multi-million dollar expansion of its U.S. marketing and global product team facilities in Indianapolis. The expansion will provide Lilly with the facilities necessary to support the growth of its late-stage product development and U.S. marketing organizations.

December 2000

Zyprexa Reaches New Prescription Milestone with 5 Million Consumers Worldwide

Reaching another milestone in its treatment history, Zyprexa® has been prescribed to 5 million consumers in 84 countries since its introduction to the market in 1996. Zyprexa is the first of the newer generation of ant psychotics (atypical ant psychotics) to be approved for long-term therapy in schizophrenia.

May 2000

Evista to Treat Postmenopausal Women in the European Union

Evista® is now approved in the European Union to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis, a disease that affects up to 50 percent of European women.

April 2000

Evista Surpasses the 7 Million Prescriptions Milestone

Eli Lilly and Company announces that its women's osteoporosis drug Evista® surpasses the seven million prescription mark in the United States. Evista is the first and only selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) therapy to be approved in the United States for the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. (Note: By the end of 2002, 10 million prescriptions for Evista have been written in the United States.)

December 1999

Prozac Named to Fortune Magazine's Products of the Century List

Lilly's antidepressant Prozac®, the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor introduced into the United States to treat depression, is included on Fortune magazine's "Products of the Century" list that recognizes innovative products from several categories. Prozac was introduced to the United States market in 1988 and has been used by more than 35 million people from 1988 to 2000.

October 1999

Lilly Named the 1999 Pharmaceutical Company of the Year

Med Ad News magazine names Eli Lilly and Company the 1999 Pharmaceutical Company of the Year, citing, among other things, an increased commitment to research and development is producing more important products.

February 1999

Eli Lilly and Company Dedicates its Sphinx Pharmaceuticals Research Facilities at North Carolina's Research Triangle Park

Sphinx Pharmaceuticals (now known as Lilly Research Triangle Park Laboratories), a division of Eli Lilly and Company, dedicated a new $40 million, 150,000 square-foot research facility. Sphinx is responsible for developing and conducting combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening for Lilly to rapidly identify and develop the next generation of novel pharmaceutical therapies.

May 1998

Lilly and Takeda to Collaborate on a Novel Oral Agent for the Treatment of Diabetes

Eli Lilly and Company and Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd., announced that they have entered into a marketing collaboration to copromote Takeda's novel insulin sensitivity enhancer pioglitazone (pronounced "pie-oh-gli-tah-zone") and a future product from the Lilly insulin portfolio in the United States.

May 1998

Tobias to Retire at Year-End: Taurel Named Successor

Eli Lilly and Company announced that Randall L. Tobias, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, will retire at the end of 1998. Tobias, who led the company through one of the most successful periods in its history, joined Lilly in 1993. Upon the recommendation of Tobias, the board named Sidney Taurel president and chief executive officer effective July 1, 1998, and chairman of the board on Dec. 31, 1998.

April 1998

Dedication of New Laboratories for Clinical Research at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis

Eli Lilly and Company dedicated the new Lilly Laboratory for Clinical Research where global clinical studies of promising new Lilly pharmaceuticals begin.The 90,000-square-foot facility is located on two floors atop the Outpatient Center of Indiana University Hospital, Clarion Health, at the university's medical center in Indianapolis. The new Lilly Clinic is designed to be the nation's most advanced center for initial evaluations of new medicines. Data from these early studies are then used to guide further evaluations of potential new Lilly medicines in thousands of patients at medical centers around the world. Advances in medical technology and clinical study methodology led to the need to design an all-new Lilly Clinic to replaced facilities at nearby Wishard Memorial Hospital. Cost of the new clinic is $17 million.

1990s

Innovative New Products Introduced

Lilly introduced a stream of innovative new products: Gemzar®, a drug for the treatment of pancreatic and non-small-cell lung cancer; ReoPro®, a cardiovascular drug that prevents blood platelets from clotting following certain heart procedures, such as angioplasty; Zyprexa, an antipsychotic agent for the treatment of schizophrenia with a low incidence of side effects typically associated with older antipsychotic drugs; Humalog®, a fast-acting insulin product that offers greater convenience to many patients with diabetes; and Evista® , the first of a new class of drugs for the prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

1980s

Prozac Launched; Breathrough in Diabetes Treatment

Lilly launched Prozac® , the first major introduction in a new class of drugs for the treatment of clinical depression. Prozac became the world's most widely prescribed antidepressant. The most significant breakthrough in diabetes care since the 1920s was marked by Lilly's 1982 introduction of Humulin insulin identical to that produced by the human body. Humulin is the world's first human-health-care product created using recombinant DNA technology. Lilly later applied this technology to the introduction of Humatrope, a new therapy for growth hormone deficiency in children.

1970s

Dobutrex Introduced; Ceclor Launched

Lilly introduced Dobutrex® , an innovative and lifesaving cardiovascular product. Ceclor® , a member of the cephalosporin family, was launched and eventually became the world's top-selling oral antibiotic.

1960s

Introduction of Anticancer Drugs and Antibiotics

The company also introduced vincristine and vinblastine, anticancer drugs known as vinca alkaloids that are derived from the rosy periwinkle plant. Lilly also launched the first of a long line of oral and injectable antibiotics in a new class called cephalosporins. Over the next two decades, the company pioneered important chemical breakthroughs that allowed the large-scale production of these products, which include Keflex®.

1950s

Lilly Launches Erythromycin; Introduces Vancomycin

Lilly launched erythromycin, an antibiotic whose broad antimicrobial spectrum expands the alternatives for penicillin-allergic patients. he company introduced vancomycin, a powerful antibiotic that remains the last line of defense for patients suffering from serious hospital infections associated with certain types of resistant bacteria.

1940s

Method to Mass-Produce Penicillin Developed

Lilly was among the first companies to develop a way to mass-produce penicillin, the world's first antibiotic, marking the beginning of many pioneering efforts at the company in the field of anti-infective therapy.

1920s

Search for Treatment Against Pernicious Anemia; World's First Insulin Product Introduced

Lilly initiated a research program to find a treatment for pernicious anemia, a life-threatening blood disorder, and introduced a liver-extract product that served as a standard of therapy for decades. The company's collaborators on the project later shared a Nobel Prize for the discovery of liver therapy against anemias.
Company researchers collaborated with Frederick Banting and Charles Best, of the University of Toronto, to isolate and purify insulin treatment options. The work resulted in Lilly's introduction of the world's first insulin product in 1922.

1870s

Eli Lilly and Company is Founded

In May 1876, Col. Eli Lilly, a U.S. Civil War veteran, founded the company that bears his name. Eli Lilly and Company quickly became one of the first companies to initiate a bona fide pharmaceutical program, hiring a young chemist to function as a full-time scientist, using and improving upon the newest techniques for quality evaluation.