Eli Lilly and Company recently allocated an additional $50 million to its now $300 million Social Impact Venture Capital Portfolio, which reflects the company’s commitment to going beyond the medicines it makes to have a positive impact on patients and society through for-profit investments.
This portfolio is now aligned with Lilly’s efforts to combat racial injustice and its effects on Black Americans and historically marginalized communities in the U.S. as well as Lilly 30×30, which is a global initiative to improve access to quality healthcare for 30 million people living in limited-resource settings annually by 2030.
This additional $50 million will go towards venture capital firms that specialize in near- and long-term healthcare solutions for patients in low- and middle-income countries like hospital systems, pharmacies, medical devices, digital health, diagnostics, therapeutics, etc.
Included in this allocation is a recent commitment to the LeapFrog Emerging Consumer Fund IV. LeapFrog is known as an impact growth equity fund investing in South and Southeast Asian and African businesses that provide innovative healthcare solutions to low-income consumers by offering relevant and affordable products to promote wellness and help prevent and manage chronic diseases.
Lilly set up the Social Impact Venture Capital Portfolio in 2020 with a $100 million commitment to the AMR Action Fund, which aims to bring 2 to 4 new antibiotics to patients by 2030 to provide the next line of defense against multi-drug resistant pathogens. And in April 2023, the AMR Action Fund announced its latest investments in biotech companies targeting a range of infections.
Since 2020, Lilly allocated $150 million as part of its Racial Justice Commitment, of which $110 million has already been committed to 8 newly formed U.S.-based Black and minority-led venture capital firms, 4 of which are led by women.
Through the investments, Lilly has indirectly funded over 50 U.S.-based start-ups, many of which are focused on launching healthcare solutions ranging from increasing clinical trial diversity, emphasizing women’s health care, promoting culturally competent care, and increasing healthcare accessibility and affordability for marginalized communities.
KEY QUOTE:
“Lilly is pleased to announce the expansion of our inclusive, for-profit Social Impact Venture Capital Portfolio aimed at leveraging Lilly’s resources to invest with purpose. Through this investing strategy, we are not only taking into account the potential for monetary returns but also a fund’s impact on people’s lives, livelihoods, health, and wellbeing.”
— Anat Ashkenazi, Lilly’s executive vice president and chief financial officer
