Lilly U.S.
Edward Sagebiel, 317-433-9899
or
Lilly Russia
Olga Katroukha, 7-095-258-5001
or
Harvard/BWH U.S.
Christine Baratta, 617-534-1602
or
Partners In Health Russia
Oksana Ponomarenko, 7-095-974-1701

            Research and training are critical steps in the
                      global fight against MDR-TB

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) joined Brigham and Women's Hospital
(BWH), an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, today in announcing the
launch of a new research and training initiative for multi-drug
resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Tomsk, Siberia, one of the world's
hotspots for this deadly public health threat. As a part of the
initiative, health care workers from Russia and other countries of the
former Soviet Union with high burdens of MDR-TB will be trained, while
research data obtained will be used globally to improve and
potentially develop new treatments for the disease. The first training
program begins tomorrow, November 12, in Tomsk.

"One of our primary goals for the Lilly MDR-TB global partnership is
to effectively and compassionately treat those who fall victim to
MDR-TB," said Gail Cassell, Ph.D., vice president of scientific
affairs and distinguished research fellow, Eli Lilly and Company. "The
Tomsk initiative will have an important global impact in that we will
be able train health care workers in best practices in diagnosing,
treating and managing the illness. It will also serve as an important
repository for new and potentially vital research about the disease
that will be shared with both practicing physicians and researchers to
reach the ultimate goal of eradicating MDR-TB."

Y. I. Kalinin, Russia's Deputy Minister of Justice, praised the
initiative. "This new research and training initiative for MDR-TB will
help broaden both the international exchange of vital research
information and experience in treating this deadly disease," said
Deputy Minister Kalinin.

The initiative, headed by Dr. Paul Farmer, professor at Harvard
Medical School and the Division of Social Medicine and Health
Inequalities at Brigham and Women's Hospital, will conduct operational
and epidemiological research to support MDR-TB control programs
worldwide. The initiative includes a training course for up to 30
MDR-TB fellows annually and follow-up support after they return to
their local facilities. Staffed by instructors from a collaboration of
medical and teaching institutions, including BWH, Partners In Health
(PIH), and leading U.S. and Russian partner institutions, fellows will
divide their time between the laboratory, classroom, and clinic. The
Eli Lilly and Company Foundation will provide the essential
operational funding for the initiative.

Reported cases of TB, the precursor to development of MDR-TB, have
doubled in Russia since 1990, surpassing former peaks in the 1970s.
New TB infections among children in Russia have also doubled between
1986 and 1998. These dramatic increases in TB have created the
potential for deadlier, drug-resistant strains of MDR-TB. In the
general population of Tomsk Oblast, 13.3 percent of new TB infections
are now MDR-TB. In the rest of Russia, rates range from 5 to 45
percent of new cases.

"Presently, there are too few physicians, nurses, laboratory personnel
and program managers who are both experts in MDR-TB treatment and
capable of training others," said Farmer. "This initiative represents
the next step in the global fight against MDR-TB, which must treat
those already afflicted and prevent the emergence of further
resistance. Through improved training of key health care workers and
the gathering of new data, we can develop best practices based on what
we've learned from our experiences at Tomsk and use them to address
the epidemic in other hotspots elsewhere in Russia and the world."

The Tomsk research and training initiative is a part of a larger
global effort unveiled in June 2003 by Lilly, WHO, Harvard/BWH, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Purdue University,
and the International Council of Nurses to address the expanding
crisis of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.

Other components of this pioneering effort include:

-- transferring technology to manufacture two antibiotics necessary
   for treatment of MDR-TB to nations where the disease is most prevalent

-- developing a training program and providing certification of sound
   business management and good manufacturing practices for each facility
   receiving manufacturing technology

-- doubling Lilly's production of one of the essential drugs used to
   treat MDR-TB

-- providing both Lilly antibiotics used to treat the illness at a
   fraction of their cost to WHO-approved "DOTS-Plus" treatment programs

-- supporting WHO's global monitoring of MDR-TB and technical
   assistance of MDR-TB treatment programs

-- supporting the CDC's monitoring of MDR-TB

-- expanding the Partners in Health MDR-TB training and research
   program in Boston, Massachusetts

-- developing guidelines and best practices for treating TB and MDR-TB
   for nurses around the world.

Brigham and Women's Hospital is a 725-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate
of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare
System, an integrated health care delivery network. Internationally
recognized as a leading academic health care institution, BWH is
committed to excellence in patient care, medical research and the
training and education of health care professionals. The hospital's
preeminence in all aspects of clinical care is coupled with its
strength in medical research. A leading recipient of research grants
from the National Institutes of Health, BWH conducts internationally
acclaimed clinical, basic and epidemiological studies.

Partners In Health is a non-profit organization based in Boston,
Massachusetts that works hand in hand with its partners in Haiti,
Peru, Russia and Boston. Since 1987, PIH has developed and implemented
a unique model of health care: bringing an ethic of social justice to
the practice of medicine. PIH tackles problems viewed by many to be
unsolvable, and treats diseases, like AIDS and MDR-TB, often deemed
untreatable.

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a
growing portfolio of best-in-class 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.