Colonel Eli Lilly founded Lilly in 1876. He was a committed man who wanted to create high-quality medicine that would meet real human needs during an era when unreliable elixirs were being sold by dubious characters. To his employees, he said this to them: "Take what's here and make it even better." We are still committed to the vision of Eli Lilly 145 years after his death. This is evident in every facet of our business, including the patients who receive our medications, as well as the employees, health professionals and communities we live and work. This spirit has been our guiding light since Colonel Eli Lilly's opening of the first Indianapolis laboratory. We have discovered nearly 100 new medicines over 140 years.