About this episode
Dave Ricks, the CEO of Eli Lilly, the world's most valuable pharmaceutical company, sits down with John and Patrick to discuss the complex business of drug development. Dave explains the true origin story of GLP-1s (from Gila monster saliva), why their potential goes far beyond weight loss to addiction and inflammation, and how "self-pay" has become the #1 way new patients get Zepbound. They cover the "shadow generic" industry undermining patents, the challenges associated with clinical trial enrollment, and what drove insulin list prices to $275 (while the net price was $40). This is a rare, candid look into the strategies, science, and future of pharma from one of the industry's most influential leaders. Timestamps (00:00) Introducing Dave Ricks (05:07) Making R&D decisions (10:10) Clinical trials (24:59) Drug pricing (32:43) Stimulating more R&D (54:15) Pros and cons of US healthcare (58:20) New pharma business models (01:05:53) Stripe and enterprises (01:07:00) China (01:16:31) Generics (01:22:37) GLP-1s (1:37:43) r/Peptides (01:41:25) LillyDirect (01:46:35) Why do investors love LLY?