[ 102 ] | INTERVIEW
medicines available for the people who needed them.
“WE EXPECT TO SEE A CONTINUATION OF THE DIGITAL TREND IN 2021”
Key initiatives undertaken by Eli Lilly in India and globally?
Eli Lilly believes in keeping its commitment to making lives better for people around the world. Eli Lilly has been a leader in diabetes management since 1923 when we introduced the first commercially available insulin. This year, we celebrated the 100th year of insulin discovery. Since then, we have been innovating to find therapies and solutions that address the daily challenges faced by patients living with diabetes. Luca Visini, Managing Director, Eli Lilly and Company (India) As a testament to our continued shares his insights on key market trends, latest initiatives, commitment to helping people living business outlook, and much more. Excerpts of the interview: with diabetes, Eli Lilly is expanding its partnership with Life for a Child (LFAC) to reach young people in more than 60 diabetes and the other for oncology using countries, including India, Pakistan, only digital channels. Ethiopia, Tanzania and Bolivia. Since Safety was of utmost importance be it 2009, Eli Lilly has donated 2.4 million the safety of our employees as well as the vials of insulin to LFAC, which provides safety of health care providers. As an or- access to care, education and life-saving ganization, in addition to ensuring that medicines and supplies to children and we made our employees feel safe in their young people with Type 1 diabetes in dejobs, we worked on helping them balance veloping countries. their work and personal commitments. Over the past few years, we have We honoured all job offers and focused broadened the accessibility of all our on employees’ physical and psychologi- insulins in our endeavour to lessen the cal well-being in this shift to burden of diabetes in India. working from home. Some Through our strategic partof our initiatives include nerships with Cipla and MANAGING DIRECTOR, salary advances, ‘VolLupin for the marketELI LILLY AND COMPANY (INDIA) untary Friday’ leaves, ing and distribution ergo support and inof our diabetes mediterventions through cines, we were able “We witnessed a remarkable which employees to expand access to increase of 280 per cent in the Challenges and learning during could seek guidance healthcare practitionumber of digital touch-points the COVID-19 pandemic? for their well-being. ners and patients. as compared to 2019” COVID-19 has pushed us into becoming We also empowered While we are one more resilient and responsive. Across our employees through of the leading compathe pharma industry, we saw how organi- our ‘We are NOT ALONE! nies in the diabetes segzations shifted efficiently to work-from- (WANA)’ campaign to manage ment, we have also taken on home and digitized setting, ensuring both work and personal life expectations. the challenge of fighting some of the continuity in running regular business Finally, as a global healthcare com- world’s most debilitating healthcare conprograms. For six months, all Eli Lilly pany, we succeeded in maintaining a ditions by providing best-in-class innovaemployees, including medical represen- steady supply of our medicines and also tive medicines in therapy areas such as tatives, worked from home and that did took on the additional responsibility of Oncology and Immunology. With these not stop us from innovating and caring developing medicines for COVID-19. We products, we also put in place highfor patients. For instance, in 2020, Eli continued to work with key stakehold- quality patient education and support Lilly launched two new products, one for ers, the health care providers, to make programs.
LUCA VISINI
280%
