Eli Lilly 2015 Annual Report Download - page 4

olaratumab and abemaciclib, several important business
development deals in immuno-oncology, and the
approval of PortrazzaTM for the treatment of metastatic
squamous non-small cell lung cancer late in the year.
Our strong pipeline portends a lot of good news for
patients—the ultimate measure of our success. As of
early 2016, we had nine molecules in Phase III testing
or regulatory review, including potential medicines that
hold the promise of signifi cant advances in the treatment
of immunological disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, and
various pain conditions.
Investors have taken note of how we’ve performed
and how we’ve kept our promises despite the challenges.
Our stock price was up 22 percent for the year, leading
to a 25 percent total shareholder return—once again
outperforming most of our peers.
The bottom line is pretty simple. We have emerged from
the so-called “YZ” years of patent expirations as a
better, stronger company. And a very promising future
is unfolding by the day!
Looking Ahead to More Growth in 2016
I could not be more excited about what lies ahead in
2016 as we look forward to additional launches and
some important pipeline milestones.
While recognizing the challenging environment ahead of
us, we continue to believe that Lilly’s growth opportunities
will depend largely on our own performance. This
includes realizing continued strong uptake of Cyramza,
Trulicity, and Jardiance, and good launches of Portrazza
and the other products, such as ixekizumab, that we
hope will emerge from our pipeline in the months ahead.
I’m confi dent that we’ve put the necessary investments
behind these recent and upcoming launches. At the
same time, we will continue to depend on strong sales of
Alimta®, Forteo®, Cialis®, and our insulins—despite the
necessary shift of some resources to the launch side.
Our Ongoing Commitment to Corporate Responsibility
In 2015, we also demonstrated our dedication to corporate
responsibility—a legacy dating back to our founder,
Colonel Eli Lilly.
Our greatest contribution to society will always be
making medicines that make life better.
Yet we fi rmly believe that we have a further role to
play by collaborating with select partners to address
serious health challenges and to enhance access to
high-quality care for people around the world. In 2015,
we continued support of our two signature global health
programs—the Lilly NCD Partnership and the Lilly MDR-
TB Partnership—focused on the growing challenge of
non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, and the
stubborn scourge of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
Elanco continued its important work to address the key
link between nutrition and health through its partnership
with Heifer International and through HATCHTM for
Hunger, a community partnership to provide eggs to
undernourished people in the Midwest.
Over the past year, Lilly employees have added to our
strong track record of volunteerism to strengthen
communities. In the fi rst fi ve years of our Connecting
Hearts Abroad program, 1,000 Lilly employees have
worked a combined 64,000 hours during two-week
assignments in impoverished communities across Africa,
Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. In addition, our
employees worldwide have volunteered 825,000 hours
since 2008 through our annual Global Day of Service. And
in 2015, we built on our legacy of support for United Way
by initiating a partnership approach that includes pairing
Lilly teams with United Way agencies.
Lastly, we continue to demonstrate a fi rm commitment
to operating responsibly in all areas of our business—
from being recognized year after year around the world
as a great place to work, to continually striving to reduce
our environmental footprint. This commitment extends
to our support for the United Nations Global Compact
and its principles related to human rights, labor, the
environment, and anti-corruption.
Faithful to Our Mission, Confi dent in Our Future
Our company has been through some real challenges
these past few years. But we confronted them head
on, fi gured out a strategy to handle what we faced, and
executed that strategy with grit and determination.
We never wavered. And in 2015, we got sure signs that
it’s working.
As we continue to honor Colonel Lilly’s instruction to
his son, to “take what you fi nd here and make it better
and better,” I believe uncertainty will once again give
way to confi dence in what an enterprise such as ours—
dedicated for 140 years to making lives better for people
all over the world—is able to accomplish.
I am honored to be a part of this work and grateful to
you for your support.
For the Board of Directors,
John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D.
Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Offi cer