Lilly Calls Meeting For Elanco, Alzheimer’s Program

(Elanco facility image courtesy of Eli Lilly and Co.)

Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) will host a meeting next month outlining the direction of two of its most high-profile divisions. The company says it will provide an overview of its Greenfield-based animal health business, Elanco, and its Alzheimer’s research program.

Last month, Elanco released its "ENOUGH: Building a Food-Secure Tomorrow" food security report. It examines potential alternatives to the current agriculture models that focus on adding more animals to feed a growing population. The company says the earth’s population is expected to reach 9.7 billion within 35 years, which could boost demand for meat, milk and eggs by 60 percent. Elanco President Jeff Simmons says "without new approaches, we won’t be able to meet the demand for safe, sufficient, affordable protein produced in a sustainable way. We must continue to find new solutions and better ways to produce animal protein that both protect the welfare of the animal and meets consumers’ expectations. Ultimately, we must ensure our efforts are right for the health and welfare of animals, right for people and right by the planet."

Lilly’s Alzheimer’s division has shown promise as a potential future revenue engine as the company continues to rebound from the patent protection loss of several high-earning blockbuster treatments in recent years. In August, one of the keys names in its potential pipeline, solanezumab, demonstrated encouraging results in a late-stage study. Estimates suggest around 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease.

The December 8 meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and include institutional investors, sell-side analysts, ratings agency representatives and financial and business media. Executives will be in Boston and a live webcast will be available through a link on the investor section of Lilly’s website.