Principles of Medical Research

Eli Lilly and Company has established policies, standards and protections throughout the research and development process to ensure that patient needs remain at the forefront. This begins with our Principles of Medical Research, an overarching statement about how and why Lilly conducts research, its relationship to researchers and how it shares research and development results.

Lilly creates and delivers innovative medicines that enable people to live longer, healthier and more active lives. Lilly carefully conducts medical research to generate important information regarding those medicines and promotes them for the indications for which they have been approved. Lilly complies with the highest ethical principles regarding the proper relationship between medical research and marketing and sales and does not use its medical research as a means to circumvent laws regarding the promotion of its products. The following Principles are derived from existing company policies and industry codes and define Lilly's standard for conducting, funding and communicating results from its medical research.

Conduct of Research

  • Lilly does not conduct medical research with the intent that the mere conduct of the study itself might induce the sale of a Lilly product.

  • Lilly may conduct off-label medical research for the purpose of answering important and relevant scientific questions, but does not conduct such research to induce the sale of a Lilly product for off-label use.

  • The Medical component of Lilly is accountable for the design, approval, conduct and scientific disclosure of medical research sponsored by Lilly.

  • For Lilly-sponsored medical research, accountability ultimately resides with the Chief Medical Officer of the company.

  • For medical research conducted by external parties, the Medical component of Lilly is accountable for approval of grant support.

Communication of Research Results

Lilly discloses publicly all medical research results that are significant to patients, health care providers or payers – whether favourable or unfavourable to a Lilly product – in an accurate, objective and balanced manner for customers to make more informed decisions about its products.

Lilly complies with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

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Our Responsibility

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Research Ethics

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PP-MG-NZ-0018 04/2021