Eli Lilly

Owner: Lilly Endowment
CEO: David A. Ricks

Eli Lilly and Company, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a prominent American pharmaceutical company with a global presence in 18 countries and its products available in approximately 125 nations. Founded in 1876 by Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical chemist and Union Army veteran of the American Civil War, the company has a long-standing legacy in the industry.

As of 2024, Eli Lilly is ranked 127th on the Fortune 500 list with a revenue of $34.12 billion. It is also ranked 221st on the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s largest publicly traded companies and 252nd on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers," recognized as the top entry-level employer in Indianapolis.

Lilly is renowned for its contributions to mental health treatment, including notable drugs such as Prozac (fluoxetine), Cymbalta (duloxetine), and Zyprexa (olanzapine). Its diabetes medications, including Humalog (insulin lispro) and Trulicity (dulaglutide), are significant revenue drivers for the company.

Historically, Lilly made headlines as the first company to mass-produce both the polio vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk in 1955, and insulin. It was among the pioneers in producing human insulin using recombinant DNA technology, with products like Humulin (insulin) and Basaglar (insulin glargine), the first approved biosimilar insulin product in the U.S.

In 1997, Lilly was both the largest corporation and the largest charitable benefactor in Indiana. However, in 2009, the company faced legal issues, pleading guilty to illegally marketing Zyprexa and agreeing to a $1.415 billion penalty, which included the largest criminal fine ever imposed in a healthcare case.

Eli Lilly is a full member of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), reflecting its commitment to advancing medical research and innovation.