Colonel Eli Lilly established Lilly in 1876 to produce high-quality medications that addressed actual medical requirements during a time when dubious individuals were selling dubious elixirs. He gave the following directive to the generations of workers: "Take what you find here and make it better and better."
We are still dedicated to his vision over 145 years later, and it permeates every facet of our company and the people we serve, from individuals who use our medications to medical professionals, staff, and the communities we live in.
The antipsychotic drug Zyprexa (olanzapine) (1996), the clinical depression medications Prozac (fluoxetine) (1986), and Cymbalta (duloxetine) (2004) are well-known Lilly products as of 2022; however, its main sources of income are the diabetes medications Humalog (insulin lispro) (1996) and Trulicity (dulaglutide) (2014). Among Lilly's accomplishments are being the first business to mass-produce insulin and the Jonas Salk polio vaccine. It was among the first pharmaceutical companies to use recombinant DNA to generate human insulin, such as Basaglar (insulin glargine), Humulin (insulin medicine), and Humalog (insulin lispro), the first biosimilar insulin product to be licensed in the United States.
Since the day Colonel Eli Lilly opened the doors to our first laboratory in Indianapolis, this spirit has served as our defining characteristic. After more than 140 years and almost 100 medications, we continue to search for the next big finding and further methods to improve the lives of people everywhere.