Ethics & Compliance

At Lilly, we strive to earn and maintain the trust of people we serve by acting ethically and responsibly in all that we do every day. We set high standards for our products, operations and performance, and we show caring and respect for those touched by our work.

Since our founding nearly 150 years ago, we have approached our company’s business with a deep sense of responsibility to all our stakeholders. Our actions, now as then, are grounded in our company’s core values of integrity, excellence and respect for people.

As part of our commitment to these values, we have developed and continue to refine and improve our ethics and compliance program. This program, which is designed to promote ethical conduct and instill a culture of integrity, includes dedicated teams supporting global anti-corruption, bioethics, and privacy programs. We require our employees to complete annual training in ethical business practices and have systems in place designed to detect violations of laws, regulations and company policies. Everywhere we operate around the world, we commit to upholding our high standards for our products, our ethical conduct and our performance.

Our global ethics and compliance program supports this commitment and is designed to meet all external requirements, including codes issued by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations. Lilly Canada adheres to the Code of Ethical Practices of Innovative Medicines Canada, and we abide by all laws, regulations and policies affecting our industry, including those of Health Canada, the Pharmaceutical Advertising Advisory Board (PAAB), and Advertising Standards Canada (ASC).

The fundamental elements of our program of ethics and compliance include the following:

Oversight 

Eli Lilly and Company’s chief ethics and compliance officer reports to the public policy and compliance committee of Lilly’s board of directors, as well as to the CEO. This individual develops, operates and monitors the program while managing a diverse team that works across the business in all geographies.

If you would like to report a concern regarding Lilly Canada's ethical conduct or practices, please contact the local chief ethics and compliance officer at:

Eli Lilly Canada Inc.
P.O. Box 73, Exchange Tower
130 King Street West, Suite 900
Toronto, Ontario M5X 1B1
Phone: 416-694-3221

Written Standards

The Red Book, which is our code of business conduct, is a statement of principles that guides our operations. These principles are based on 11 corporate policies and are consistent with our company values of integrity, excellence and respect for people. Our global procedures, standards and training align with the code of business conduct, and we hold every employee accountable for making decisions with integrity so we can earn and maintain the trust of the people we serve. 

Education and Training 

We require all employees to complete ongoing training and education on The Red Book, its associated policies and procedures, and all applicable legal requirements.

Communication

We actively promote open communication at all levels of the organization. Our employees understand they have an obligation to speak up when they have questions or concerns about potential violations or unethical behaviour that could harm Lilly or the people we serve. Our leaders are expected to support and promote this open communication. Employees can report concerns to leadership, as well as to human resources, ethics and compliance, or the legal department. The Lilly Ethics and Compliance Hotline is available online 24 hours a day to employees and the public globally, subject to local law, or  via email at speakup@lilly.com. The hotline website also lists up-to-date local phone numbers for most countries, where available. The Canadian hotline is accessible via phone at 1-800-815-2481 (primary language English) and 1-855-350-9393 (primary language French). Translation services are available, and reports may be made anonymously.

Auditing and Monitoring 

On an ongoing basis, we assess, evaluate, monitor and audit compliance with our program of ethics and compliance and all associated policies and procedures. We report findings to top leaders, local management and corporate governance committees.

Response to Potential Violations 

We investigate all reports of potential violations using a standard process. If a violation has occurred, we determine appropriate disciplinary consequences by evaluating each case individually. We also review our procedures, processes and business practices to establish whether changes are needed to prevent further violations.

Program for Maintaining Integrity in Our Business: Working with Health Care Professionals

Health care professionals are important partners to the pharmaceutical industry, as they share with us their scientific and medical expertise, as well as their insights into patients’ care. Collaboration among health care professionals, health care organizations and the research-based pharmaceutical industry has helped produce innovative medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, and has significantly reduced the impact of many diseases on the lives of Canadians.

We maintain a program to enhance transparency and prevent corruption called Integrity in Business, and we created a specific department — Lilly Canada’s Business Integrity Office — to help ensure that our business transactions with health care providers are beyond reproach.

We also believe that transparency regarding our external collaborations strengthens trust, and is in the best interest of Canadians. Consequently, we have taken the initiative to be transparent about our financial relationships with other members of the Canadian health care system. Lilly, along with nine other member-companies of Innovative Medicines Canada, now voluntarily publishes aggregated sums of our company’s payments to Canadian health care practitioners and health care organizations.