LILLY (ELI) & COMPANY: Lilly's Anthony Murphy Announces Retirement

Date: March 4, 2009                                                            

For Release: Immediately

Refer to: ( 317) 277 -1421 - Carole Puls

                                     Lilly                                     

Senior vice president of human resources to retire after more than 28 years of 
                                    service                                    

Indianapolis - Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced that Anthony
(Tony) Murphy, Ph.D. , senior vice president of human resources , will be
retiring from his position in April after nearly three decades in prominent HR
roles at Lilly. The process to name Murphy's successor is underway and that
person will be named at a later date.

Dr. Murphy first joined Lilly in 1980 as a personnel representative in
Basingstoke, U.K., and was named to his current role in June 2005. During his
28-year career at Lilly, he held a variety of HR leadership positions in the
United States and internationally, including executive director of HR for
Europe, Japan, and the intercontinental region.

"Tony has played a key leadership role in driving the essential transformation
of our company while keeping respect for people at the forefront of every
discussion," said Lilly Chairman, President and CEO Dr. John Lechleiter. "He
also has been a champion of serving patients, helping employees across
components and job levels draw a line of sight from their work to the people
who depend on our medicines. I will miss his wisdom and friendship in our daily
interactions, and I want to sincerely thank him for his loyalty and intense
dedication to Lilly."

Born in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, Murphy received a bachelor's degree
from the University College Dublin in 1970 and a doctorate in psychology from
the University of Wales in 1975. Prior to joining Lilly, Murphy lectured in
industrial relations and worked as a consultant and researcher at the
University of Bath, England. Murphy is a fellow of the Institute of Personnel
and Development (U.K.) and a Chartered Psychologist.

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing
portfolio of first-in-class and 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. Additional information
about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com.

C-LLY

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U.S.A.

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