Lilly to Welcome World Wide Web to Take Control -- Peaks & Valleys Meeting; Experts Highlight Glycaemic Control as Key to Diabetes Management.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

INDIANAPOLIS--(BW HealthWire)--March 7, 2002

A global diabetes conference - Take Control--Peaks & Valleys(TM) - that emphasises the importance of controlling hyperglycaemic peaks and hypoglycaemic valleys will be broadcast on the World Wide Web from 25th March 2002 by Yahoo! Broadcast Solutions. The third annual conference, hosted by Lilly, is taking place in Kyoto, Japan, for the next three days.

This innovative webcast project marks a significant advance in the approach of communicating information from a scientific conference to the widest possible audience. The webcast, which can be accessed at www.PeaksValleys.com, will allow diabetes specialists from around the globe to `log-on' and view proceedings from the conference, allowing global opinion leaders and journalists to benefit from the latest advances in diabetes research and education.

"This exciting new project between Lilly and Yahoo! marks the first time that we have undertaken a global broadcast from a scientific congress. This webcast will broaden the Take Control--Peaks & Valleys(TM) conference to a geographically dispersed audience," said Eileen Laszlo, Director of Yahoo! Broadcast Solutions.

In addition to those viewing the conference through the webcast, the three-day event - designed to review issues and treatment alternatives for the 151 million people globally who have diabetes - will attract approximately 110 physicians from 18 countries around the world.

This year's Take Control--Peaks & Valleys(TM) conference will once again focus on critical issues for people with diabetes - specifically, controlling daily peaks (when more than a normal amount of glucose is in a person's blood) and valleys (when less than a normal amount of glucose is in a person's blood). Topics to be discussed during the meeting include postprandial peaks as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease; recent advances and future directions in treating peaks and valleys; the effects of glucose fluctuation on cognitive function; quality of life; and new technologies for glucose sensing, insulin delivery and feedback control.

Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating and sometimes fatal illness. According to the International Diabetes Federation, approximately 151 million people worldwide are living with diabetes - a number that is expected to double by 2025. Diabetes is associated with a range of complications caused by consistently high blood glucose concentrations. Effective management of diabetes includes careful blood glucose monitoring. Appropriate management of diabetes can prevent the onset of complications such as blindness, kidney disease and amputations. Heart disease and stroke also are complications related to diabetes.

"It is now widely accepted that complications of diabetes can be delayed by strict control, which includes limiting post-meal hyperglycaemia," said Dr. Eberhard Standl, Physician-in-Chief, Academic Hospital Munich-Schwabing, Germany, and chairman of the conference. "New insulin preparations, with rapid onset of action, enable people with diabetes to closely mimic very precise regulation of insulin secretion that occurs naturally in people who do not have diabetes. The Take Control--Peaks & Valleys(TM) initiative plays a very important role in disseminating the latest knowledge to physicians about appropriate diabetes care management."

"Lilly has been a leader in the area of diabetes care for nearly 80 years," said Meng Tan, M.D., medical director for diabetes care at Lilly. "The Take Control--Peaks & Valleys(TM) initiative is an increasingly important one for both physicians and people with diabetes as we develop more understanding around these critical issues. Physicians from around the world have embraced this initiative as an important part of improving the treatment regimen."

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.

Notes to Editors

The Take Control--Peaks & Valleys(TM) initiative was launched during a two-day meeting in Switzerland in February 2000. Outcomes from that meeting were published in the September issue of the International Journal of Clinical Practice. The second annual meeting was held in March 2001 in Austria.