Eli Lilly and Company Pledges $12.5 Million to Accelerate Cancer Clinical Research

Eli Lilly and Company Pledges $12.5 Million to Accelerate Cancer
Clinical Research
Lilly's Commitment to Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation now totals $27.5
million 


INDIANAPOLIS, April 13  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eli Lilly and Company has
committed $12.5 million to the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation as part
of an effort to bring the brightest young medical and scientific minds to the
field of cancer clinical research.

The contribution is aimed at enhancing the pace and progress of cancer research
and comes on the heels of an American Cancer Society report that states cancer
is now the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 85.(1)

"As someone who has devoted his medical career to drug research and discovery,
I'm alarmed by the steady decline of trained physician scientists pursuing
clinical research," said Richard Gaynor, MD, Vice President of Cancer Research
at Eli Lilly.  "Unfortunately, cancer is a growing health problem, and we need
physician scientists working on novel solutions to make further progress in
this important research area.  This grant helps us train the right people to do
that."

The number of physicians engaged in clinical research -- the research that
transforms laboratory advances into treatment realities -- has dropped
significantly over the past two decades, according to Dale F. Frey, Chairman of
the Board, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.  Frey said that young
physicians who would like to pursue a career in clinical research often find
themselves faced with overwhelming debt from medical school.  Consequently they
choose to go into patient practice, as fewer institutions are able to commit
the necessary funds to train young physicians in clinical investigation.

"If we consider the fact the there are fewer researchers in a time when our
general population continues to age and cancer rates are rising, we're left
facing a tremendous gap in the development of future researchers who can find
answers for patients who desperately need them," said Frey.

The Clinical Investigator Award addresses this alarming issue.  Each year, an
independent judging panel, consisting of some of the most world-renowned
oncologists selects five young awardees, each receiving a five-year $1 million
grant.  The grant includes payment of up to $100,000 in medical school debt, an
annual salary, research funding and a stipend for the recipient's mentor.
Ultimately, the award enables junior physicians to devote about 80 percent of
their time to research, instead of 10 to 20 percent.

The awards program began in 2000 when Lilly pledged $15 million over five years
to the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.  Since then, 24 junior
physicians from around the country have been presented awards.  The awards
program has already led to important research findings.  For example, William
Sellers, M.D., assistant professor of oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, is an award recipient who helped discover the genetic mutation that
explains why certain patients with lung cancer respond to Iressa, while others
do not.  This finding was described by the medical community as a major advance
in the burgeoning field of "personalized" cancer treatment.

"Lilly's $27.5 million donation to the foundation is a compelling example of
what innovative partners can achieve and it sends an important message to young
clinical researchers that providing answers to waiting patients is the first
order of business," said Frey.

About Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

Founded in 1946, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation focuses on
identifying and encouraging extraordinary young scientists to commit themselves
to cancer research.  The Foundation is dedicated to identifying generations of
truly innovative investigators in cancer research - scientists that approach
questions from totally new directions, challenge existing dogma, and think
"outside the box."  To date, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has
invested over $170 million in cancer research, supporting approximately 3,000
of the most gifted scientists in the nation.  It is currently funding 190
investigators.

Over the past 59 years, scientists initially identified and supported by the
Foundation have been instrumental in improving the understanding of cancer in
its many forms and developing new approaches to prevention, diagnosis and
treatment.  Damon Runyon scientists and physician-scientists, in leadership
roles in the nation's major research institutions and cancer centers, have made
breakthrough discoveries that have and will continue to save countless lives.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing
portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by
applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from
collaborations with eminent scientific organizations.  Headquartered in
Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers -- through medicines and information
-- for some of the world's most urgent medical needs.  Additional information
about Lilly is available at http://www.lilly.com/. O-LLY

(1) Cancer Facts and Figures: 2005; American Cancer Society, Web site,
http://www.cancer.org/, accessed April 2005

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DATASOURCE: Eli Lilly and Company



CONTACT:  Gregory L. Clarke of Eli Lilly and Company, [phone],

pager: [phone], or Email:  

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