Dave Ricks

◼ Origin

Dave Ricks became chair and CEO of Eli Lilly in January 2017, inheriting a pricing structure in which Humalog — the flagship insulin Lilly had manufactured since 1996 — had risen 1,157% from its launch price of $21/vial to $274.70/vial. Ricks held those prices for six years, through his entire first term and into his second. Named Americans rationed their doses and died during that period. The price cut came in March 2023, not from moral reflection, but from the convergence of the Inflation Reduction Act, a presidential State of the Union address spotlighting insulin rationing, and the competitive pressure of a peer manufacturer announcing cuts first. The Senate Finance Committee had documented, through 100,000+ internal documents, that Eli Lilly executives were acutely aware that the rebate-kickback system with pharmacy benefit managers was the mechanism keeping insulin prices elevated — and that awareness shaped their pricing decisions. Ricks earned $21.3M in compensation the year the price cut was announced, and $29.2M the year after.

◼ Self-Made Verdict — YES

Dave Ricks presided over Eli Lilly while the company maintained insulin prices at 1,157% above their 1996 launch price — prices that foreseeably caused Americans to ration their insulin and die. The mechanism was documented: Senate Finance found internal evidence that Lilly executives understood the PBM rebate system kept list prices elevated, and that they made pricing decisions accordingly. The price cut announced in March 2023 was not voluntary — it was coerced by legislative and political pressure. During the six years Ricks served as CEO before the cut, he earned over $100 million in compensation. No criminal charges have been filed. No civil liability has been found against Lilly for the deaths. The system was legal. The people were still dead.

◼ Documented marks