Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company () is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States. The company was founded in 1876 by a pharmaceutical chemist, Eli Lilly, after whom the company was ultimately named.

Among other specialties, Lilly was the first company to mass-produce penicillin and today is the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of psychiatric medications.

Company profile

A Fortune 500 corporation, Eli Lilly had revenues of $20 billion in 2008, making it the 148th largest company in the United States and the 10th largest corporation by global pharmaceutical sales. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and is a member of the S&P 500 stock index. Eli Lilly was one of the Nifty Fifty stocks that propelled the mid 20th century bull market.

Eli Lilly is a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).

History

Colonel Eli Lilly, a pharmacist and a veteran of the American Civil War, began formulating plans to create a medical wholesale company while working in partnership at a drug store named Binford & Lilly. His wife's death from malaria a few years earlier influenced him to see a need working capital. His first innovation was gelatin-coating for pills and capsules. Following on his experience of low-quality medicines used in the Civil War, Lilly committed himself to producing only high-quality...
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