Lilly CEO Lechleiter's Prasugrel Bet Appears to Pay Off

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BNET Pharma provides daily industry trends and news coverage with insights for managers and executives about major manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medicine. In addition to detailed drug company profiles, we bring you industry analysis on new partnerships, drug patents and products, cost management, investments, pharmaceutical related lawsuits, and a host of other important business issues.

A few months ago, BNET suggested that Eli Lilly’s acquisition of ImClone was a hedge to give the company new revenue sources in the event that its application for blood thinner prasugrel was turned down by the FDA.

An FDA panel today voted 9-0 to approve the drug, just not in patients with a history of stroke and those who are undergoing open-heart surgery. The FDA typically follows such recommendations. It’s not as good a label as BMS’s Plavix, but …

… it still means that CEO John Lechleiter’s bet appears to be paying off big-time. The company has gone from not having a new drug approved in three years to having a potential blockbuster on the way and a whole new cancer pipeline to enjoy.

See BNET’s previous coverage of Eli Lilly and prasugrel:
Odds Improve for Lilly’s Prasugrel-ImClone Gamble
In Light of Prasugrel Delay, Lilly-ImClone Deal Suddenly Makes Sense
A Lilly-ImClone Deal May Offer the Drama that CEO Lechleiter Craves

Tags: Eli Lilly & Co., FDA, CEO, Federal Government, Government, Jim Edwards

Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email.

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