Lilly Announces Additional $50 Million Investment in Global Tuberculosis Partnership

Lilly Announces Additional $50 Million Investment in Global Tuberculosis Partnership

March 22, 2007

Funding enables partnership to continue critical battle
against MDR-TB; Reinvestment brings Lilly's total
commitment to $120 million for long-term, sustainable
program


    NEW YORK, March 22 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and
Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced plans to invest an
additional $50 million in an innovative, global partnership
to fight Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB).  The
announcement is being made in conjunction with World TB Day
activities.

    (Logo:  
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO )

    This new commitment furthers Lilly's support of a
pioneering initiative started in 2003, and brings the total
Lilly investment to $120 million.  The funding supports a
multi-pronged strategy to increase the supply and
availability of effective drugs for treating the complex
and life-threatening disease; training for front-line
health care personnel; and efforts to focus global
resources on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of
MDR-TB.

    Highly contagious, difficult to treat, and a growing
threat to global public health, MDR-TB strikes about
450,000 people each year, with the highest rates of
prevalence in China, India, South Africa and the countries
of the former Soviet Union.  The World Health Organization
(WHO) estimates that the average MDR-TB patient infects up
to 20 other people in his or her lifetime and cases of
MDR-TB have been found in virtually every country surveyed
by WHO.  When drugs used to treat MDR-TB are misused or
mismanaged, the even more virulent Extreme Drug Resistant
TB (XDR-TB) can develop. 

    The Lilly MDR-TB Partnership is an international
alliance of 14 public and private organizations, including
businesses, humanitarian organizations, academic
institutions, and professional health care associations.  

    "Eli Lilly and Company understands its role in the
global battle against MDR-TB and recognizes its
responsibility to those afflicted by this deadly
disease," said Sidney Taurel, Lilly's chairman and
chief executive officer.  "These additional funds will
extend our commitment to transferring the technologies and
improving the support systems needed to stop the spread of
MDR-TB." 

    A cornerstone of the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership is its
success in influencing key MDR-TB policies around the world
including introducing new treatment protocols and convincing
the global health care community that treating MDR-TB is
just as important as treating primary TB.  More than 40
countries now have health policies addressing MDR-TB.

    Dr. Paul Farmer, physician, medical anthropologist and
founding director of Partners in Health, was one of the
first to approach Lilly about investing in this effort.  He
described the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership as unique among
public/private efforts.

    "I'm not sure people understand the scope of the
Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, which has reached tens of
thousands directly but may also serve as an example of how
we can draw on the resources of the pharmaceutical industry
to address some of the most important public health problems
of our times.  The partnership has helped establish better
MDR-TB treatment guidelines, improved care for those
stricken with MDR-TB in Russia, sub-Saharan Africa, China
and India and made critical antibiotics more available to
save lives everywhere," Farmer said.  "Lilly's
continuing support is invaluable."

    In addition to Partners in Health, those in Lilly's
MDR-TB Partnership include the International Council of
Nurses, International Federation of the Red Cross & Red
Crescent Societies, International Hospital Federation,
Purdue University, TB Alert, U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), World Economic Forum, World
Health Organization/Stop TB Partnership, and World Medical
Association.  Each of the partner organizations are
contributing to the success in changing the MDR-TB
treatment paradigm. 

    Over the last few years, with support from Lilly,
thousands of health care workers have been trained in
treating MDR-TB and thousands of community workers have
helped patients and their families overcome MDR-TB and its
stigma.  The additional funding will enable more training
of healthcare workers, support workplace education aimed at
earlier identification of TB and HIV and increase the number
of countries with strengthened MDR-TB control.

    "The emergence of the deadly XDR-TB strain
underscores the urgency of stopping MDR-TB.  It is a global
priority," said Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of the
Stop TB Department, World Health Organization.  "The
continued commitment of the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership to the
global fight against MDR-TB has greatly helped improve
proper TB treatment protocols and monitoring systems.  They
understood very early that providing drugs to treat MDR-TB
was not enough."

    "Through this unique and effective partnership,
the ICN and nurses on the ground aim to bring quality,
dignified care to communities and individuals living with
TB, improved adherence to treatment, and strengthened
prevention strategies," said Judith Oulton, CEO of the
International Council of Nurses.  "We are convinced
that the cross-sectoral, multi-disciplinary approach of the
Lilly partnership will lead not only to better outcomes for
TB and MDR-TB patients, but also a reduction in disease
burden and drug resistance.  This is an innovation that
works."

    Another centerpiece of Lilly's MDR-TB Partnership is
the transfer of technologies and expertise needed to
manufacture two Lilly antibiotics used to treat MDR-TB,
capreomycin (Capastat(R)) and cycloserine (Seromycin(R)),
to facilities in the highest-burdened countries.  Since
2003, Lilly has transferred its technology, formula and
trademark to generic drug makers, including Aspen
Pharmacare (South Africa), Hisun Pharmaceuticals (China),
Shasun Chemicals and Drugs (India), and SIA
International/Biocom (Russia). 
 
    In addition to supplying the necessary manufacturing
know-how to produce the drugs, Lilly provides financial
assistance for the purchase of equipment and conversion of
manufacturing facilities.  This includes working with the
Chao Center at Purdue University to provide technical
expertise and training in good manufacturing practices.

    Today, each of the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership firms is
contributing to increasing the supply of two much-needed
MDR-TB antibiotics.  Additionally, since 2000, Lilly has
supplied more than one million vials of capreomycin and
more than five million capsules of cycloserine through the
WHO's Directly Observed Treatment-Plus (DOTS-Plus) program.
 Through the WHO, projects in 40 countries have been
approved to receive concessionary-priced MDR-TB drugs for
the treatment of up to 26,000 MDR-TB patients.  
 
    Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is
developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class and
best-in-class 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.  Additional information
about Lilly is available at http://www.lilly.com .


    For more information, please contact:

     Phil Belt (United States)
     Eli Lilly and Company
     Tel:   [phone]
     
     Frances Beves (Europe)
     Eli Lilly and Company
     Tel:   [phone]