ELI LILLY'S CEO CALLS FOR JAPAN-U.S. FREE-TRADE DEAL

Eli Lilly's chairman and CEO, Sidney Taurel, is in favor of a Japan-U.S. economic integration agreement and urges private groups to help lay the groundwork for such a free-trade deal. In a speech before the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, Taurel said that a bilateral agreement could boost the $200 billion annual trading relationship between the two countries.

He believes bilateral trade negotiations could improve the pharmaceutical industry in Japan. He said the Japanese market is less attractive to U.S. companies and less supportive of Japan's own pharmaceutical industry because of Japanese clinical requirements and policies of the National Health Insurance system that fail to assure price premiums when new products come to market. He noted that while Japanese pharmaceutical companies are some of the most innovative in the world, not a single Japanese firm is one of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies, and Japan's global market share in pharmaceuticals is less than 10 percent -- compared with about 50 percent for U.S. companies.

"One goal of bilateral trade negotiations should be to reduce artificial constraints on pricing and market access for biopharmaceuticals in Japan," Taurel said. "As a result, one would expect to see greater investment in life sciences R&D in Japan; better integration of Japanese research with academic, medical and industry networks around the world; significant increases in employment in Japan; faster access to medicines for Japanese patients; and, of course, increased exports of Japanese biopharmaceutical products to markets worldwide."