Lilly chief calls on industry, public policy to support innovation

LONDON — Public policies to support medical innovation will help drug companies address diseases that devastate people’s lives, a drug company executive said at a summit Thursday.

Speaking at The Economist magazine’s 2011 Pharma Summit, Eli Lilly chairman, president and CEO John Lechleiter called for a new approach to research in such illnesses as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and cancer. This included changing the way companies conduct research and public policies that promote an environment in which innovation can flourish.

“Our industry is taking too long,” Lechleiter said in his remarks. “We’re spending too much, and we’re producing far too little.”