Bioethics

Lilly was among the first pharmaceutical companies to establish a standing bioethics committee, and has since built a dedicated Bioethics Program to embed bioethical principles across our research and development. The program is designed to protect and advocate for the rights and well-being of research participants and patients, and to uphold the integrity of the scientific process.

Overseen by the Chief Medical Officer, the program is anchored by the Bioethics Advisory Committee, which includes internal researchers, business leaders and external experts. This committee works with teams and business areas to identify bioethics considerations and advise on possible courses of action. Our Bioethics Framework for Human Biomedical Research guides employee discussions about the ethics of our research.

We apply the principles in the Bioethics Framework to our research study design, informed consent processes and content, selection of countries for clinical trial sites, requests for access to investigational treatments outside of clinical trials, engagement of special populations such as pediatrics, and timing and content of research publications.

Our Bioethics Program

Our Bioethics Program focuses on guidance development and communication, consultations, and collaboration on bioethics topics. We develop internal position papers and corporate position statements on recurring or impactful bioethics topics. Externally, we engage with industry partners to help establish best practices and contribute a pharmaceutical perspective to broader bioethics conversations.

Our Bioethics Framework for Human Biomedical Research and our Principles of Medical Research provide a bioethics foundation for the company’s positions on bioethics issues, promoting alignment with broadly accepted ethics principles and our core values of integrity, excellence, and respect for people.

We apply a single global standard to the conduct of medical trials involving human subjects. This standard is based on well-respected ethics guidance and other requirements including:

• The World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki

• The Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences’ International Ethical Guidelines for Health-Related Research Involving Humans

• The International Conference on Harmonisation’s Guideline for Good Clinical Practice

• The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America’s Principles on Conduct of Clinical Trials

• Applicable laws and regulations of the country or countries in which a study is conducted.

We conduct clinical research and development activities consistent with bioethics principles and sound scientific methodologies, focusing on the safety and well-being of research participants.

We continue to advance the integration of bioethics into how we work by sustaining our core consultation and guidance capabilities. We reviewed the global procedure that defines our bioethics requirements across the organization, and shared insights from our consultation work at the 2025 Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) Annual Conference, contributing to broader industry dialogue on how bioethics principles are applied in practice.

We are working to make our bioethics guidance more accessible across the organization by developing simplified resources that are streamlined, practical, and easier for employees to apply in their day-to-day work.

Resources

• Lilly Position Statement on Bioethics

• Research Ethics

• Principles of Medical Research

Related Topics

• Ethics and Compliance

• Responsible Use of AI

• Patient Safety

• Human Rights

• Corporate Governance

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