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Eli Lilly Engineering

To revolutionize pharmaceutical development by creating a world-class technology platform that accelerates life-saving medicines to patients

Eli Lilly logo

Eli Lilly Engineering SWOT Analysis

Updated: April 18, 2025 • 2025-Q2 Analysis
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To revolutionize pharmaceutical development by creating a world-class technology platform that accelerates life-saving medicines to patients

Strengths

  • INFRASTRUCTURE: Advanced cloud architecture enabling faster simulations
  • TALENT: Leading ML engineers and computational biologists
  • PIPELINE: Strong analytical capabilities for clinical trial data
  • PARTNERSHIPS: Strategic tech alliances with AWS, Google Cloud
  • RESEARCH: Robust data management systems supporting research

Weaknesses

  • INTEGRATION: Legacy systems causing data silos across departments
  • SECURITY: Gaps in cybersecurity protocols for sensitive research
  • TALENT: Shortage of specialized AI/ML engineers in drug discovery
  • AGILITY: Slow software development lifecycle compared to tech firms
  • DOCUMENTATION: Inadequate technical documentation for drug research

Opportunities

  • AI: Apply AI to reduce drug discovery timeline by 40%
  • CLOUD: Migrate all clinical trials to cloud platforms by 2026
  • AUTOMATION: Expand lab automation to reduce manual processes 65%
  • DATA: Implement real-world evidence platforms for post-market data
  • DIGITAL: Develop patient-centered digital therapeutics companions

Threats

  • COMPETITION: Tech giants entering pharmaceutical R&D space
  • REGULATION: Stricter data privacy regulations impacting research
  • CYBERSECURITY: Growing sophistication of pharmaceutical IP theft
  • TALENT: Fierce competition for top AI/ML talent from tech sector
  • COMPLEXITY: Increasing computational demands of modern drug design

Key Priorities

  • TRANSFORMATION: Modernize tech stack to eliminate data silos
  • TALENT: Develop specialized AI/ML recruitment and training program
  • AUTOMATION: Accelerate lab automation to reduce cycle times
  • SECURITY: Strengthen cybersecurity to protect intellectual property

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To revolutionize pharmaceutical development by creating a world-class technology platform that accelerates life-saving medicines to patients

UNIFY DATA

Create seamless data ecosystem across entire R&D pipeline

  • ARCHITECTURE: Deploy unified data lake with 100% research data accessibility by Q3
  • INTEGRATION: Eliminate top 5 data silos with new API platform serving 2,000+ researchers
  • VALIDATION: Implement data quality framework with 99.9% validation rate across platforms
  • GOVERNANCE: Deploy master data management system covering 100% of research entities
AI TALENT SURGE

Build world-class AI/ML pharmaceutical engineering team

  • RECRUITMENT: Hire 50 specialized AI/ML engineers with pharma experience by EOY
  • TRAINING: Launch AI Academy with 500+ engineers completing advanced ML certification
  • RETENTION: Improve tech talent retention to 92% through career advancement programs
  • DIVERSITY: Increase underrepresented groups in tech roles to minimum 40% of new hires
ACCELERATE R&D

Cut drug discovery timeline through automation & ML

  • AUTOMATION: Deploy next-gen lab automation reducing experiment cycle time by 50%
  • PREDICTION: Launch ML models for candidate prediction with 80% improved accuracy
  • SIMULATION: Scale quantum computing simulation capacity by 300% for molecule testing
  • DEPLOYMENT: Implement continuous deployment pipeline reducing release cycles by 65%
FORTRESS

Build impenetrable security for intellectual property

  • ZERO-TRUST: Implement zero-trust architecture across 100% of research platforms
  • ENCRYPTION: Deploy homomorphic encryption for 95% of sensitive research computations
  • MONITORING: Launch AI-driven threat detection reducing incident response time by 75%
  • COMPLIANCE: Achieve SOC2 Type II certification for all clinical and research systems
METRICS
  • DEVELOPMENT TIME: Reduce discovery-to-IND submission time by 30%
  • ENGINEERING VELOCITY: Increase development team velocity by 45%
  • AI MODEL ACCURACY: Achieve 85%+ accuracy in drug candidate prediction models
VALUES
  • Integrity: We conduct business with honesty and transparency
  • Excellence: We pursue innovation and continuous improvement in all we do
  • Patient-Focused: We place patients at the center of every decision
  • Collaboration: We foster inclusive teamwork across disciplines
  • Speed: We move with urgency to bring new medicines to patients

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Align the learnings

Eli Lilly Engineering Retrospective

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To revolutionize pharmaceutical development by creating a world-class technology platform that accelerates life-saving medicines to patients

What Went Well

  • AUTOMATION: Laboratory automation reduced experiment cycle time by 32%
  • CLOUD: AWS migration of clinical data improved analysis time by 41%
  • INTEGRATION: New data platform launched connecting 4 major research areas
  • PRODUCTIVITY: Engineering team velocity increased 28% through DevOps

Not So Well

  • TALENT: Critical AI engineering positions remained unfilled for 6+ months
  • SECURITY: Three significant security incidents requiring remediation
  • TECHNICAL DEBT: Legacy system maintenance consumed 38% of IT resources
  • INTEGRATION: Cross-platform data sharing still requires manual processes

Learnings

  • RECRUITMENT: Specialized pharma-tech recruiting strategy needed urgently
  • ARCHITECTURE: Modular system design enables faster regulatory approval
  • COLLABORATION: Cross-functional teams accelerate ML model deployment
  • VALIDATION: Automated testing critical for maintaining compliance

Action Items

  • TALENT: Launch pharma-tech academy with guaranteed interview program
  • SECURITY: Implement zero-trust architecture across all research systems
  • MODERNIZATION: Accelerate legacy system replacement with cloud services
  • AUTOMATION: Expand CI/CD pipeline coverage to all critical applications

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To revolutionize pharmaceutical development by creating a world-class technology platform that accelerates life-saving medicines to patients

Strengths

  • MODELING: Advanced protein-folding AI models accelerating discovery
  • INVESTMENT: Dedicated AI research center with $250M annual budget
  • PARTNERSHIPS: Key collaborations with AI research institutions
  • FOUNDATION: Strong computational biology expertise in key areas
  • DATA: Rich proprietary datasets from decades of clinical trials

Weaknesses

  • TALENT: Gap in specialized AI/ML talent for pharma applications
  • INTEGRATION: Isolated AI initiatives not connected to core pipeline
  • TRAINING: Limited high-quality training data for rare diseases
  • GOVERNANCE: Unclear AI governance and validation frameworks
  • ADOPTION: Resistance to AI-driven decision making in R&D teams

Opportunities

  • DISCOVERY: AI could reduce candidate identification time by 70%
  • TRIALS: Smart trial design could improve success rates by 25%
  • MANUFACTURING: AI optimization could reduce production costs 20%
  • PERSONALIZATION: AI for targeted therapies could expand portfolio
  • SAFETY: Predictive models could reduce adverse event risks by 35%

Threats

  • COMPETITION: Tech giants developing specialized pharma AI platforms
  • REGULATION: Uncertain FDA guidance on AI in critical drug decisions
  • EXPLAINABILITY: Challenge of interpreting complex AI recommendations
  • BIAS: Risk of biased algorithms affecting diverse patient groups
  • TRUST: Physician reluctance to accept AI-generated insights

Key Priorities

  • INTEGRATION: Create unified AI platform across drug lifecycle
  • TALENT: Launch specialized AI/pharma recruitment initiative
  • VALIDATION: Develop rigorous AI validation framework with FDA
  • ADOPTION: Create AI literacy program for all R&D personnel

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AI Disclosure

This report was created using the Alignment Method—our proprietary process for guiding AI to reveal how it interprets your business and industry. These insights are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, legal, tax, or investment advice.

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