Zyprexa

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

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

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

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

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

He acknowledged some products' performance had been disappointing, most notably Xigris, an expensive biotech drug against sepsis that is effective only 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 conceded.

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

More salespeople are now touting ...

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