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Changes in
Eli Lilly's Drug Research "Model"
The thought of a drug company proposing "the
right dose of the right drug to the right
patient at the right time" isn't what one is
used to hearing in this age of blockbuster
drugs, but in a speech to shareholders in April
that's what
Eli Lilly's Sidney Taurel proposed as the
company's new "model." Lilly, which created one
of the biggest blockbuster drugs of all time --
Prozac, sees research and drug development
taking a new direction.
A New York Times article
Blockbuster Drugs Are So Last Century
quotes Eli Lilly executive director of corporate
strategy as saying that
"[a]dvances in understanding the ways that cells
and genes work will soon lead to important new
drugs." According to information in the same
article, Lilly spends nearly 20 percent of its
sales on research, compared with about 16
percent for the average drug company.
Whether that change in company philosophy
will actually benefit those who suffer from
orphan illnesses -- or those of us with Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome (CFS, CFIDS, ME) or
Fibromyalgia who feel orphaned by our disabling
conditions -- remains to be seen. The thought
that the aforementioned "cells and genes work"
may lead to finding and treating the causes of
illness rather than masking the symptoms does
offer some hope that help may be on the horizon.
Source:
Blockbuster Drugs Are So Last Century |
