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David Ricks

Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & President, Lilly Eli

Search every verified David Ricks interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. David Ricks, chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly, has recently discussed the company's GLP-1 medications and their expanding role in treating obesity, diabetes, and other conditions. In an October 2026 interview, he noted that roughly 10 to 11 million people used branded GLP-1 drugs in September, representing about 8 to 9 percent of the eligible population, and predicted that pricing would decrease with competition while access improves. He also highlighted ongoing research into additional indications, including sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis knee pain, and potential applications in immunology, asthma, and brain health. Ricks has also addressed international market access and pricing. In an October 2026 interview, he stated that Eli Lilly aims to launch the drug Foundayo in India by the first half of 2027, and described a new commitment to address obesity and cardiometabolic syndrome in low- and middle-income countries. In August 2026, he discussed Eli Lilly's efforts to list Mounjaro on Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, saying the company had attempted this at least three times and arguing that Australia's pricing approach undervalues medicines relative to their contribution to health budgets. He also commented on vaccine safety, stating that Eli Lilly has no evidence that vaccines cause autism and that medical decisions should be based on evidence.

Recent appearances

Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“I think it is a bit of an exaggeration based on what I know today. There are breakthroughs happening in cancer and another disease. Those are really based on biotechnology, not information technology. But we do think the merge of the two will help scientists maybe slowly at first, but then accelerate in the future create better medicines. But I think we still need human brains in this process. Much of what we know ab”

“We've just made a commitment this week, new news, to change the course of obesity, diabetes and cardiometabolic syndrome in low and middle income countries, of which India is one. Historically in our industry, we would launch new products in the most developed countries and then pretty slowly introduce them around the world and often not even bother to get to low-income countries till 20 years after introduction. We ”

“You really should cover GLP-1 medications. No, you should actually we have data out that shows within with the right population within a year or two you break even or do better and we could affect statewide health if we deploy these drugs successfully. Now you have the feds and the state doing it. So why wouldn't you? I think that's the question. But there's other things we should do. One is we've talked a lot about ”

“We are really in a golden age for biomedical discovery and I think there's a platinum one on the horizon to be honest because everything we've been able to do so far is sort of like yesterday's news in a way. You know the incredible success we're having with really changing the risk factor of obesity which is really like a disease of diseases and if we can scale that and actually affect drive obesity rates in our cou”

“The basic problem from our standpoint is how Australia is valuing the medicine and again not just MARO. The overall value of medicines in the total health system has fallen from about 6% of the budget 10 years ago to about 4% now. So medicines have been devalued in a way by 50%. And I think despite incredible medical advances like a product like Mangaro which could really aid so many Australians with their diabetes. ”

“We definitely want Mjaro to be listed on the PBS scheme. I think we've attempted that at least three times so far and it's unusual to not be listed because it's on the WHO essential medicine list and I think your expert clinicians well expert clinicians everywhere but including in Australia are highly recommending it for people with diabetes. Um of course you know now um the global pricing system has adapted over the”

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