Lilly Donation to Patient Advocate Foundation Expands Services and Access for Patients With Most Common Form of Lung Cancer

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Jul 13, 2011, 08:20 ET

INDIANAPOLIS, July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced that it has made a charitable contribution to the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF). The donation will enable expansion of the foundation's patient services programs, including Case Management and Co-Pay Relief (CPR) Programs in support of a new fund for patients with nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of lung cancer.

PAF is a national, non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation, assuring access to care, and preservation of employment and financial stability, relative to their diagnosis of life-threatening or debilitating diseases. The CPR Program provides direct financial support for co-payments for medicines to insured patients, including Medicare beneficiaries who financially and medically qualify.

Since the program's inception in April 2004, CPR has distributed more than $120 million in assistance to more than 46,000 patients who were unable to afford their co-payments for medications. PAF also has a long-standing history of service to the lung cancer community, having the oldest lung cancer fund in the U.S. In the 12 months ending March 31, 2011, PAF received requests from more than 8,000 lung cancer patients, providers and/or caregivers, but, given the size of the fund, was only able to assist less than six percent of those patients.

"We understand that treating cancer involves more than delivering innovative medicines," said Sue Mahony, Ph.D., senior vice president and president, Lilly Oncology. "Aside from the health and emotional issues brought on by this devastating illness, there are often financial considerations. We applaud the Patient Advocate Foundation and hope with our assistance they can expand their vital services to even more patients," she added.

To request assistance from PAF, patients and physicians should contact their Co-Pay Relief Program by visiting www.copays.org or calling toll free (866) 512-3681.

Lilly Oncology has a tradition of supporting patients who cannot afford crucial medicines, with donations of cancer treatments valued at more than $16.3 million in 2010. PatientOne is a program that addresses financial and coverage issues for uninsured, insured, and underinsured patients who are candidates for Lilly oncology products. PatientOne supported more than 1,600 patients in 2010 and has recently expanded its eligibility requirements to include households with income up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level. To learn more about PatientOne, please visit www.LillyPatientOne.com.

About Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Globally, lung cancer is the most common form of cancer and the biggest killer, causing 1.3 million cancer deaths annually.(1) About 85 – 90 percent of all lung cancers are NSCLC.(2) The liver, bones and brain are potential targets if the cancerous cells enter the bloodstream.

NSCLC comprises a group of histologies or tumor types differentiated by cellular structure. Nonsquamous histology includes adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma, which account for more than half of all NSCLC diagnoses(3), as well as histologies classified as "other."

About Lilly Oncology

For more than four decades, Lilly Oncology, a division of Eli Lilly and Company, has been dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that improve the care of people living with cancer. Because no two cancer patients are alike, Lilly Oncology is committed to developing novel treatment approaches. To learn more about Lilly's commitment to cancer, please visit www.LillyOncology.com.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers – through medicines and information – for some of the world's most urgent medical needs.

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(1) World Health Organization, Gender in Lung Cancer and Smoking Research, Department of Gender, Women and Health, 2003, http://www.who.int/gender/documents/en/lungcancerlow.pdf, (April 20, 2011).

(2) American Cancer Society, "What Is Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?," December 16, 2010, American Cancer Society, http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/LungCancer-Non-SmallCell/DetailedGuide/non-small-cell-lung-cancer-what-is-non-small-cell-lung-cancer, (April 20, 2011).

(3) American Cancer Society, "What Is Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?," October 20, 2009, American Cancer Society, http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/LungCancer-Non-SmallCell/DetailedGuide/non-small-cell-lung-cancer-what-is-non-small-cell-lung-cancer, (April 20, 2011).

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SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company