Eli Lilly and Company’s CSR Dilemma

How might a pharmaceutical company retool its social responsibility strategy amid industry criticisms of runaway drug prices and foot-dragging in developing countries?
Jerry Kim, Bruce Kogut  | Fall 2009
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The Jerome Chazen Case Series

 In 2003, Eli Lilly and Company faced a threat to its philanthropic reputation on several fronts. Consumers were concerned about escalating drug prices, and the pharmaceutical industry was criticized for being slow to provide HIV/AIDS drugs in developing countries. Eli Lilly Chief Executive Sidney Taurel sought to develop a corporate social responsibility strategy that would set his company apart from the industry. Options included expanding the company's diabetes program or broadening support for treatment of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. In this case students study the pharmaceutical industry's sales, R&D and philanthropic giving, as well as regional demographics and their leading causes of death, to create a recommendation for revitalizing Eli Lilly's social responsibility strategy.

Case ID: 090415

This case is used in core curriculum

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