Zyprexa

"Lilly has been more innovative than most other companies but done worse at execution," said Barbara Ryan, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.

"There's betting on a pipeline that hasn't panned out in the past." In each of the last four years, analysts' earnings projections fell through the 12 months, according to Zacks, reflecting negative developments or sentiment.

"The company is not without controversy," said Schott.

Yet, he is willing to trust Lilly because he likes the management and the strategy.

Born in Morocco and fluent in four languages, Taurel is a favorite among analysts for his direct but personable style.

Taurel acknowledged some products' performance has been disappointing, most notably Xigris, an expensive biotech drug against sepsis which is only effective in a limited population.

"We had so many new products in a short time that maybe we didn't do the best job with each," Taurel concedes.

Taurel said he was dismayed by the slowdown in Cymbalta prescriptions but has taken steps to boost sales.

More sales people are now touting Cymbalta, and Lilly launch...

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