Eli Lilly & Co. will freeze base pay for most of its employees in 2012, citing financial pressures caused by patent expirations on top drugs. The Indianapolis drug maker recently lost U.S. patent protection for its former No. 1 product, the antipsychotic Zyprexa, triggering generic competition that is expected to contribute to a decline in profit and sales for 2012. Some other top-selling Lilly drugs are expected to lose patent protection in coming years. The compensation committee of Lilly's board "elected no base pay increase in 2012 in light of patent expirations we're facing now and the financial challenges we're going to have," said Lilly spokesman Mark Taylor.
