DEVELOPING AND MARKETING A BLOCKBUSTER DRUG

INTRODUCTION

In 2003, Eli Lilly & Company was in the process of gathering employees for a major assessment of the companyís work on ProzacÆ. Prozac (fluoxetine), an antidepressant first marketed in 1987, was the first available drug in a new class of psychotropic drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). It quickly became the biggest selling drug in the history of the pharmaceutical industry⎯a ìblockbusterî drug, the industryís equivalent to hitting a three run homer out of the park. Prozac, and other SSRIs that followed it, also revolutionized the treatment of depression and changed the philosophy and practice of psychiatry. Not only was the drug effective, but Prozac allowed depression to be treated by non-psychiatrist physicians, substantially increased the number of depressed patients who had access to treatment, and lowered the cost of treating depression and other mental illnesses. With all of these benefits, Prozac was widely prescribed and became Lillyís number one selling drug.

Although most pharmaceutical companies aspired to produce first-in-class blockbuster drugs, the management demands generated by such drugs challenged even the most able of executives. Eli Lilly wanted to derive what lessons it could from its experience with Prozac and apply those lessons to its new potential blockbuster drugs, Symbyax and Cymbalta, Prozacís direct descendants. Accordingly, the company convened several Prozac reassessment meetings to allow managers to relate their Prozac experiences and to discuss the implications and apply the lessons.

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