Eli Lilly and Company, commonly referred to as Lilly, is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries and products available in approximately 125 nations. Founded in 1876 by Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical chemist and Union army veteran from the American Civil War, the company carries his name.
As of October 2024, Lilly has achieved the status of the most valuable drug company in the world, boasting a market capitalization of $842 billion, marking the highest valuation ever recorded for a pharmaceutical company. The firm ranks 127th on the Fortune 500, reporting revenues of $34.12 billion. Additionally, it is positioned 221st on the Forbes Global 2000 list, which encompasses the largest publicly traded companies globally, and 252nd on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers."
Lilly is recognized for its antidepressant medications, including Prozac and Cymbalta, as well as the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa. Its primary revenue sources are the diabetes treatments Humalog and Trulicity.
The company was a pioneer in mass-producing both the polio vaccine, created in 1955 by Jonas Salk, and insulin. Lilly was among the first in the pharmaceutical sector to manufacture human insulin using recombinant DNA technology, producing products like Humulin, Humalog, and the first approved biosimilar insulin in the U.S., known as Basaglar. Additionally, Lilly introduced exenatide to the market as the first of the GLP-1 receptor agonists, followed by highly successful medications in this category, such as Mounjaro and Zepbound.
By 1997, Lilly had become both the largest corporation and the largest philanthropic benefactor in Indiana. In 2009, it pleaded guilty to illegally marketing Zyprexa and agreed to a substantial $1.415 billion settlement, which included a criminal fine of $515 million, making it the largest ever in a healthcare-related case and the highest criminal fine levied against a single corporation in a U.S. criminal prosecution at that time.
Lilly is a full member of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, as well as the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations.