Lilly Pursues targeted therapy
Eli Lilly has been ranked as the one of the best companies to work for and it has been consistently progressing at par with the market growth.

Eli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt Ltd is a 100 percent subsidiary of US pharmaceutical major, Eli Lilly. In India, the company enjoys formidable presence in diabetes, cardiology, women’s health, oncology and critical care. The company derives around 60 percent of its revenues from the diabetes segment. Some biotech products of the company include Forteo (Teriparatide), Huminsulin (Human Insulin), Humalog (Human Insulin analog), Byetta (Exenatide), Xigris (Drotrecogin Alfa) and Humatrope (Somatropin).
The company clocked revenues of Rs 164 crore in the fiscal year 2008-09 as against Rs 137 crore in 2007-08, thereby clocking a growth rate of 10 percent over 2007-08, in line with the market growth as per ORG IMS. Within the diabetes care segment, the analog segment registered the highest growth compared to other insulin players. The company today enjoys a share of approximately 20 percent in the overall insulin market.
In September 2008, the company launched a line extension (100 mg variant) of its premier anti-cancer agent Alimta (Pemetrexed). Moving forward, the company remains focused on pursuing the targeted therapy approach. Elaborating on it,  Sandeep Gupta, managing director, Eli Lilly India, said, “Development in research has helped scientists identify specific molecular targets within individual cells, thereby heralding an era of targeted therapy, a concept which Lilly has embodied. This technique enables companies like Lilly to tailor treatment options for individual patients based upon the presence of these molecular targets. This eventually leads to improved treatment procedures for patient.” This approach is clearly aligned with the Lilly vision. A case in point is the recent launch of Alimta in first line management of non-small cell lung cancer, but only of the non-squamous type.
Lilly focuses on bringing best-in-class products through its own research stable or via collaborations. In October 2008, Lilly and Jubilant Organosys formed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) to develop molecules in areas of oncology, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Both companies agreed to invest Rs 37.69 crore over the next three years in the JV. In the same vein, March 2009 saw Lilly enter into another R&D alliance with Zydus Cadila, this time in the area of cardiovascular research. While Zydus will work to discover and develop potential molecules against a novel target, Lilly will provide chemical starting points and expertise and feedback on toxicology and ADME. The deal is reported to be worth Rs 1,413 crore.
The company was recently ranked ninth in the ‘Best Companies to work for’ survey conducted by the BT-TNS-Mercer. With this recognition the company earns  the unique distinction of becoming the only pharma company that entered the list. Commenting on the recognition, Sandeep Gupta said, “This ranking is also a reflection of our continuous employee engagement initiatives throughout the year. We will continue to look at alliances and partnerships where products and services synergistically complement each other,” he added.