Person
1 episodes · 25 quoted claims
Eli Lilly said it is building a supercomputer using NVIDIA B300 chips that it believes is the largest biology-focused supercomputer and the biggest built by a pharmaceutical company.
“We think it's the biggest biologically focused supercomputer there is. And certainly the biggest pharma's done with B300's latest chipset.”
Dave Ricks said the average new drug costs about $3.5 billion to $4 billion to develop, with more than 60% of that spent on the final testing stage.
“the average drug costs three and a half, 4 billion to make. More than 60 % of that is the last step.”
Dave Ricks said clinical development takes about 10 years across the industry and a little less than seven years at Eli Lilly.
“So drug development time in the industry is about 10 years in the clinic, a little less right now. We're running a little less than seven at Lilly.”
Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's prevention trial was run with a single US investigator and screened over 80,000 people, which Ricks called the fastest-enrolled Alzheimer's study in history.
“we ran this with one investigator in the United States, and we screened over 80 ,000 people.”
Dave Ricks said Eli Lilly is developing a one-time PCSK9 gene edit in the liver intended to lower LDL cholesterol permanently.
“we have a medicine development that will knock down your LDL, if it's safe enough, with a one undone PCSK9 edit in your liver.”
Dave Ricks said the Avandia controversy led US regulators to require diabetes drugs to rule out cardiovascular risk before approval, adding years to development.
“And the Avandia one, we know well, we work in diabetes, actually caused a policy change. And the policy change was you must rule out cardiovascular risk prior to market entry.”
Dave Ricks said the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a drug-pricing watchdog, found tirzepatide and semaglutide cost effective at current prices.
“They just analyzed our medicine, trisepatide and semaglutide. And they said, actually, they're both cost effective at current pricing.”
Dave Ricks said the Inflation Reduction Act, passed under the Biden administration, allows government price intervention on medicines roughly seven years after launch.
“the Biden administration passed a rule in the Inflation Reduction Act to actually have government price intervention in the US at five years plus two.”
Dave Ricks said a drug typically loses about 97% of its price when its patent expires and generics arrive.
“Typically, a generic event, you'll lose 97 % of your pricing the day your patent expires.”
Dave Ricks said Lilly's net price for insulin stayed around $30 to $40 while its list price rose to $275 because manufacturers competed on the gap between list and net price.
“It's like $30 or $40. But the list price got up to $275. Why? We were competing on the spread.”
Eli Lilly launched its own lower-priced generic version of its insulin, insulin lispro, at about a third of the regular price to counter inflated list prices.
“So we launched our own Biosimilar. It says Lily on the bottle. It says Insulin Lice Pro, which is the generic name. And we priced it really cheap, like a third of the regular product.”
Dave Ricks said Eli Lilly's San Diego monoclonal antibody hub, with about 400 employees, has produced about a third of the medicines Lilly has made since it was started.
“So we started in San Diego. We built a monoclonal antibody biotech hub there. It's produced like a third of the medicines we've made since we started.”
Dave Ricks said the United States moved to a first-to-file patent system in 2011, replacing first-to-invent.
“in 2011, the US changed the patent system to first to file versus first to invent.”
Dave Ricks said China held rights to the BioNTech-Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine through nearly the whole pandemic but never approved it.
“They had rights to the BioNTech Pfizer vaccine for almost the entirety of their pandemic. They never approved it.”
Dave Ricks said Eli Lilly invented Prozac and that the now-generic drug costs about three cents a day.
“we invented Prozac, still the standard of care in treating depression. It's like three cents a day.”
Dave Ricks said a 1980s US policy change made it easier for generic drugs to enter after patent expiry in exchange for a structured, more limited path for patent litigation.
“So in the 80s also, there was a change in the policy in the US, which was a trade to basically make it easier for generics to enter the market after patent expiry in exchange for less patent litigation.”
Dave Ricks said small-molecule generic drugs are approved on absorption tests in small groups of people rather than proof that they work.
“there is no requirement for small molecule chemical medicine to show proof of efficacy of any kind.”
Dave Ricks said the incretin effect, in which gut hormones trigger insulin release after eating, was discovered in 1971.
“This was discovered in 1971, basically, called the Incretin Effect.”
Dave Ricks said the first long-lasting GLP-1-like compound was found in Gila monster saliva, then modified into a twice-daily diabetes drug by Lilly.
“it was found in nature, actually, famously in the saliva of a Gila monster.”
Dave Ricks said Eli Lilly launched the first GLP-1 medicine, a twice-daily injection, in 2006.
“We launched the first GOP-1 twice a day injection in 2006.”
Eli Lilly made a once-weekly GLP-1, dulaglutide, by attaching the hormone sequence to an antibody-like backbone to extend its life in the body.
“So we made a once a week GLP-1 called dual glutide. We stuck the protein, the native sequence, to the backbone of basically a monoclonal antibody to extend its life.”
Dave Ricks said self-pay Zepbound is the number one way new patients start these medications, exceeding Lilly's insured new-patient starts.
“It is actually the number one prescribed form of these medications is ZEP bound self-buy.”
Dave Ricks said LillyDirect grew out of the insulin pricing fight, when a pharmacy chain threatened not to carry Lilly's low-priced insulin.
“a different pharmacy chain actually threatened not to carry our low-priced insulin because they couldn't make enough money on it.”
Dave Ricks said Eli Lilly captures roughly 70-75% of new US GLP-1 patients.
“across all forms of GLP-1, on new patient capture, we're basically 70%, 75 % right now.”
Dave Ricks said he is the 11th CEO of Eli Lilly in its roughly 150-year history.
“And I'm the 11th CEO of the company. That's one less than Pope's in that period of time.”