Mike Mason, President of Lilly Diabetes and EVP at Eli Lilly, Joins StartUp Health’s Type 1…

Mike Mason, President of Lilly Diabetes and EVP at Eli Lilly, Joins StartUp Health’s Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot

Mike Mason’s 33-year history working at Eli Lilly and his relationships with loved ones who live with Type 1 diabetes gives him a unique perspective on the disease and how companies can make an impact that genuinely affects patients’ lives.

StartUp Health recently launched a Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot, an initiative aimed at speeding up innovation in T1D by breaking silos between research and commercialization, foundations and startups, and governments and patients. At the center of the project is an Impact Board led by entrepreneur and T1D advocate David Weingard.

This week we introduce another member of this cross-disciplinary T1D dream team: Mike Mason, Executive Vice President at Eli Lilly and President of Lilly Diabetes. Mason’s 33-year history working at Eli Lilly and his relationships with loved ones who live with Type 1 diabetes gives him a unique perspective on the disease and how companies can make an impact that genuinely affects patients’ lives. In our recent interview with Mason, he discussed Eli Lilly’s commitment to diabetes care, how the company has evolved over the past few decades, its current innovations, and the value of having a diversity of ideas to explore solutions to this often devastating disease.

Q&A

You’ve been with Eli Lilly since 1989. That career longevity gives you a unique perspective. How have the company’s views on health innovation changed over the last few decades?

Mike Mason: We’re in a great spot right now when it comes to innovation. In 2008/2009, we had a classical, functional approach where we had research and development (R&D), commercial, and all the other functions. R&D independently determined what products we were going to bring to market. The problem with that is that it can prioritize what’s perceived as scientific innovation. You can have giant leaps in science and look at it from a purely scientific innovation view, but that doesn’t lead to significantly better outcomes or innovation that’s perceived well and meets the needs of consumers and healthcare professionals. Some insulin products or other diabetes products have come to the market that were scientifically sound breakthroughs. Still, they didn’t provide enough incremental impact to drive a lot of commercial interest.

So, in 2009, we transitioned to a business unit approach. We have a business unit for every therapeutic area. Then we will drive the business unit area that owns the commercial piece and the development piece, which work very closely with R&D on their priorities and targets. Magic happens when you get people who are very close to customers together with our medical, science, and development experts, and then we work through the challenge like these are the most critical patient problems to work on. We’re fortunate at Lilly that we have some tremendous scientists, and magic can happen if you point them in the right direction.

It’s that spirit that allowed us to develop Trulicity and now Mounjaro (tirzepatide), which are just tremendous breakthroughs. And we have this pipeline right now of products that can really change the progression of the disease, like Tirzepatide. It’s a product that for Type 2 diabetes, 40% to 60% of people return to normal A1C. We never had those measurements at any other non-insulin trial, but with the highest dose, people had 25 pounds of weight loss on average. These are agents that can fundamentally change the course of treatment. So, understanding where the gaps are in a holistic patient is vital. Many of those living with Type 2 diabetes live with chronic weight management concerns first that then develop into Type 2 diabetes. When you look at their clinical needs, being able to address weight is a critical component of their care. For us, we’re able to articulate that well on a daily basis to R&D, and then they go and do the great work of bringing those to the marketplace. That was the fundamental shift that we’ve had.

You mentioned that your mother has Type 1 diabetes. Is there a challenge she faces day-to-day that sticks in your mind that you’d like to see fixed through the work you’re doing?

Mason: Hypoglycemia is a concern. It’s really painful to see someone you love so much have a hypoglycemia event in front of you. I worry that my mom could have an event when no one is around and get hurt. She wears a CGM, but it’s not as accurate down at the low level, so it alarms so many times that she ignores it. Then sometimes it’s right and she doesn’t catch it and it goes down. So, I manifest that into our innovation. We’re working on glucose-sensing insulin, smart insulin that will only work if glucose is present. The theory, the hope, the dream is that it won’t drive blood sugar low enough where it would cause hypoglycemia. That would allow people to get the life-saving benefit of insulin without the hypoglycemia risk. You want to be in good control, but you’ll get more hypos if you push it too much.

We understand that Lilly is expanding beyond pharmaceuticals to devices. Can you tell us about that?

Mason: We have a connected insulin pen in the FDA clearance process right now. Over the last 100 years, physicians have monitored patients’ insulin, and to take insulin correctly, you have to take the correct dose at the right time of the day. You can have poor control if you take an incorrect amount or a dose at the wrong time. For example, physicians might have an office visit with a patient who reports having a lot of hypo events. But the physician is somewhat blind to what’s causing it; it’s just based on what the patient is saying. Or some people will write in logbooks, but sometimes the log is incomplete. Our connected pen will record the dose, the type of insulin, and the time of day their insulin is injected and import either CGM or blood glucose readings into the same data. For the first time, people can look at glucose readings and when they took their insulin. Then healthcare professionals can look at that data and see patterns. A physician will now have more insight into where they can coach and help to improve care. So that’s what our product will do.

I want to improve the lives of people with Type 1 diabetes. I know there are many innovative people out there who don’t have the capabilities or the proper connections to get to market. Together, we can change that.

It sounds like there is optimism on your end that you have the tools and business structures in place to make substantial progress in diabetes. But there must be some frustration too that it’s taken this long. Where do you fall on that spectrum?

Mason: The need is massive. When you look at diabetes and obesity that my group looks after, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. I mean, there are close to a billion people globally who live with obesity or diabetes. But what gives you hope is when you have a company like Lilly that is growing organically, not just buying other companies. We’ve grown through R&D. Typically, we’re in the top three every year with the percent of revenue that goes into R&D. We’ve decided to grow organically through true breakthrough innovation that will drive breakthrough outcomes in the marketplace. We have the capability, the know-how, and the courage to tackle the most significant issues in diabetes and obesity because we believe the team can create that. And once you start having success, you have more success.

What role do you see the StartUp Health T1D Moonshot playing in pushing innovation forward?

Mason: I think it’s a great, practical approach to helping advance care for diabetes. There are a lot of great ideas out there, but it doesn’t mean every great idea helps people living with a disease. I think entrepreneurs need support and they need financing. StartUp Health needs to pick through and differentiate between the good ideas and the not-so-good ones.

For me, it’s a personal mission. My mom has Type 1 diabetes. I have a brother who is insulin-dependent. And I’ve been through market research. I’ve spent so many years in diabetes at Lilly. I have a pretty good idea of what people who live with diabetes deal with on a daily basis. What got me excited about StartUp Health was that I can provide good insight into evaluating the ideas that I would invest in, that have the best shot of being successful, and that really change the life of patients. I want to improve the lives of people with Type 1 diabetes. I know there are many innovative people out there who don’t have the capabilities or the proper connections to get to market. Together, we can change that.

Your involvement on the impact board sets up an interesting contrast between big pharma and the thousands of early-stage entrepreneurs who are innovating around their kitchen tables and in their garages. Why do you think it’s important to tap into the minds of a large group of entrepreneurs versus one team of R&D folks?

Mason: What’s interesting about the innovation process is that everyone thinks we’re a big company. But the innovation process really starts when my team and I, a group of seven to nine people, get together and brainstorm. We sit around a table and talk about what’s interesting, what could help patients, what providers would love, and what payers would pay for. The spark of innovation at Lilly is no different than what you have elsewhere.

In Type 1 diabetes you often see entrepreneurs driven by personal experience. They see that if a solution existed, it would help their child. It’s a passion for them to make a difference. I love talking to people like that. We have a lot of people who live with diabetes working within our company. When you have innovators who are very close to the people who live with diabetes, I think you’ll get better ideas. The more diverse those ideas are, the better. It’s awesome to feel that you have the ability to get the breadth and diversity of ideas and people in different situations brainstorming about that.

Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

David Weingard Breaks Down the Mission and Vision of StartUp Health’s New T1D Moonshot

Investors: Learn how you can invest in Health Moonshots through the StartUp Health Moonshots Impact Fund.

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Mike Mason, President of Lilly Diabetes and EVP at Eli Lilly, Joins StartUp Health’s Type 1… was originally published in StartUp Health on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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