Questions About Lilly Faculty

1. Why does Lilly need to contract with healthcare professionals for services?
   Few products in any industry are as complex as an innovative medicine, and every new drug is different. Every medicine, for instance, has different approved uses and side effects.
   
   We have learned from experience that many healthcare professionals often prefer to receive information from Lilly about our products through their peers and professional colleagues. That's why we contract with faculty members—often experts in their field—to conduct Lilly-sponsored programs for healthcare professionals on treatment options and the complex nature of diseases.
   
   Some faculty members also work to educate patients so they know how to use Lilly medicines that have been prescribed to them. Others advise us on the development of meaningful tools, programs, and needed clinical information—all in the pursuit of better patient care.
2. Why does Lilly pay these individuals for their services?
   Lilly compensates faculty members for their time as well as their expertise. Partnering with these experts is essential to our ability to effectively educate healthcare professionals and patients on the appropriate use of our medicines and other important medical and health-related topics.
   
   Moreover, the experts contracted by Lilly often have invested years in developing their knowledge and experience and bring a critical clinical perspective highly valued by other healthcare professionals and patients.
3. How does Lilly determine the amount it pays its faculty?
   Our compensation rates vary based on the credentials of the faculty member, many of whom have invested years in developing their knowledge and experience. So the rate of compensation is determined based on this expertise as well as fair market value—what the healthcare professional would be compensated by others for similar services.
   
   It's important to note that since 2004, Lilly has limited the amount a Lilly Faculty member can earn in a given year. Many of our peer companies have since adopted similar policies as recommended by the PhRMA code.
4. How does Lilly select the healthcare professionals for the Lilly Faculty?
   Healthcare professionals are chosen for their expertise in specific diseases and patient care. In the case of faculty members who lead informative discussions with other healthcare professionals, they must be strong educators and communicators as well.
   
   Advisors are typically well-known researchers and clinicians who are respected by other healthcare professionals, often cited in professional literature, and active in professional medical societies.
5. Is it a conflict of interest to pay healthcare professionals who can influence the prescribing of your drugs?
   Lilly and the healthcare professionals we contract for service take a number of measures to disclose their relationships and avoid potential conflicts of interest—including the creation of this very registry.
   
   For example, at the beginning of a Lilly educational activity or patient education program, the faculty speaker is required to identify himself or herself as a compensated representative of Lilly. The speaker must state that the program is sponsored by Lilly and, in the case of a healthcare professional education program, is not accredited for continuing medical education.
   
   Many of Lilly's faculty members are associated with medical and academic institutions throughout the United States. These institutions may also have their own unique policies on conflict of interest.
   
   Faculty members also agree, as a part of their contractual agreement, that if they have a role in formulary decisions with a public or private institution or payer, they will disclose that they have a contract with Lilly, the types of services they perform, and the amount of compensation they receive. Consistent with the pharmaceutical industry's PhRMA code on interactions with healthcare professionals, this requirement extends for two years beyond the term of their agreement with Lilly.
   
   Additionally, Lilly places no restrictions on a faculty member's ability to inform their patients, employer, any licensing authority, or anyone else, the amount they are paid under the Lilly agreement.
   
   Finally, the creation of this registry also reflects our commitment to transparency.
6. Do the fees Lilly pays these healthcare professionals contribute to the high cost of prescription drugs?
   The amount Lilly compensates its contracted faculty is part of our effort to inform healthcare professionals about our products in an effort to ensure our medications are used correctly and appropriately. It's also the preferred way that some healthcare professionals want to be kept informed about our products and disease states.
7. Are payments to clinical investigators included in the registry?
   Not at this time. The current registry includes payments to US-based healthcare professionals for healthcare professional and patient education services, as well as advisors for non-clinical research-related activities. In the future, we plan to disclose our payments for these types of services, and other things like meals, textbooks, and other items that we may provide.
8. Are all Faculty on this Registry contracted by Lilly?
   Lilly requires all faculty to have a signed contract on file before a service is performed. Any faculty contract may be cancelled at anytime throughout the year, but faculty names and total compensation must remain on the Registry for the entire year, and each annual report must be archived on the website for the term of the Corporate Integrity Agreement signed by Lilly in February, 2009.
9. Are only Lilly products discussed in these healthcare professional educational programs?
   Lilly offers different types of educational programs on a variety of topics, not just Lilly products. These programs are developed in collaboration with expert contracted advisors. When the program is related to a medicine, it is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and by Lilly’s policy that no information inconsistent with the product's FDA-approved labeling may be shared proactively by the faculty. In certain situations programs may discuss comparisons to other products if the FDA standard has been met to support such a comparison.
   
   In addition, Lilly also offers programs that discuss various diseases or conditions which do not mention any Lilly product or other pharmaceutical treatments. These programs offer in-depth information regarding advances in disease research, epidemiology, symptom identification, patient presentation and diagnosis, and disease management.

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