In speech, Lilly CEO calls for drug monitoring

In a speech at the Cleveland Clinic, Eli Lilly chairman and CEO Sidney Taurel (photo) called for greater use of health IT in order to monitor the effects of prescription drugs. Not only would such a system provide much-needed post-marketing pharmacovigilance, it would also help the industry study drug effectiveness and identify other indications for drugs. A comprehensive, interoperable health IT could collect detailed data on a daily basis, thus helping doctors, regulators, and drug manufacturers notice trends more quickly. The result would be a more accurate picture of a drug's safety and efficacy than exists today.

"The use of prescription medicines always will be a matter of balancing benefits and risks," Taurel said. "Fortunately, systems are now within our grasp to more quickly identify both the true benefits and the full extent of risks associated with medicines in widespread use."

- check out the release on Taurel's speech

ALSO: The FDA has posted a letter on its website warning Lily to stop making "false and misleading" claims about its antidepressant Cymbalta. Report

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