Lilly CEO: 'New approaches' must be found to combat diabetes

CLEVELAND The CEO of drug maker Eli Lilly has called for a “wave of invention” to combat diabetes.

Speaking at the Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit, John Lechleiter said breakthroughs against the disease are needed as urgently today as a century ago, noting that the disease could create a “health and economic time bomb,” as 1-in-3 Americans are forecasted to have the disease by 2050.

Lechleiter talked about some of the developments in research on the disease, such as research on the genetics that can create susceptibility to it, new methods of insulin delivery, therapies that address both glucose control and cardiovascular problems, and the development of disease-modifying therapies.

Lilly was an early pioneer in mass-produced insulin in the 1920s, and in 1996 became the first company to win regulatory approval for an insulin analog, Humalog (insulin lispro [rDNA origin]).

“While the potential of research has never been greater, and the need for breakthroughs is more urgent, there are serious barriers to innovation,” Lechleiter said. “We must find new approaches that reduce the cost and time of drug development and deliver more value to patients.”