Eli Lilly and Company Sponsors Arthritis Foundation 'Living Your Yes With RA,' an Initiative to Provide Resources for the Rheumatoid Arthritis Community

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Supported by Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), the Arthritis Foundation is launching 'Living Your Yes With RA,' a new initiative designed to empower people living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by giving them tools, education and resources, allowing them to expect more from their RA treatment – seeking remission or low disease activity as the only acceptable outcome. The program will be implemented in 15 cities across the U.S.

"The Arthritis Foundation is committed to providing access to information and optimum care to the rheumatoid arthritis community," said Cindy McDaniel, senior vice president, consumer health and impact, Arthritis Foundation. "We understand the difficulties RA brings, including joint pain, swelling, stiffness and fatigue, and want to help patients to start saying 'Yes' despite the challenges they face living with this disease. The Arthritis Foundation is focused on providing patients with the tools they need to set and track treatment goals, communicate more effectively with their health care providers about their goals and live a full life."

The Arthritis Foundation will host free 'Living Your Yes With RA' goal-setting events, facilitated by local rheumatologists, over a three year period. Rheumatologists will highlight available tools and resources for setting and tracking goals so patients can strive to reach low-disease activity or remission. They will also provide training for implementing the tools and tips on the best ways for patients to discuss their goals with their doctor.

"We are proud to support the Arthritis Foundation in this exciting new program," said John R. Richards, director of global advocacy and professional relations, Lilly. "We support initiatives like 'Living Your Yes With RA' as they provide important education for patients and health care providers and the need to consider both clinical and life goals as indicators of treatment success."

Beginning this fall, the Arthritis Foundation will host 'Living Your Yes With RA' events in 15 cities including Tampa, St. Louis, Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Cleveland, Boston, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Dallas. For more information on events in your state, please visit your local chapter's website.

Resources and downloadable tools are available by visiting www.arthritis.org/toolkits/better-living/.

About Eli Lilly and Company 
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels. 

About the Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation is the Champion of Yes. Leading the fight for the arthritis community, the Foundation helps conquer everyday battles through life-changing information and resources, access to optimal care, advancements in science and community connections. The Arthritis Foundation's goal is to chart a winning course, guiding families in developing personalized plans for living a full life – and making each day another stride towards a cure. The Foundation also publishes Arthritis Today, the award-winning magazine that reaches 4 million readers per issue.

About Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation and progressive destruction of joints.^[i,ii] Approximately three times as many women as men have the disease. Current treatment of RA includes the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, oral conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (cDMARDs), such as methotrexate – the current standard of care – and injectable, biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) that target selected mediators implicated in the pathogenesis of RA.^[iii] Despite current treatment options, many patients do not reach their therapeutic goals or sustained remission.^[iv,v] There remains an important need to provide additional treatments to improve overall patient care. CR-LLY

ⁱ  American College of Rheumatology, Rheumatoid Arthritis, http://www.rheumatology.org/practice/clinical/patients/diseases_and_conditions/ra.asp (Accessed: October 11 2016)
ⁱⁱ Hand Clinics, Advances in the Medical Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3135413/pdf/nihms305780.pdf (Accessed:  October 11, 2016)
ⁱⁱⁱ Arthritis Foundation, Medications for Rheumatoid Arthritis, http://www.arthritistoday.org/about-arthritis/types-of-arthritis/rheumatoid-arthritis/treatment-plan/medication-overview/ra-medications.php (Accessed: October 11, 2016)
^iv Rheumatoid arthritis, Lancet, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27156434 (Accessed: October 11, 2016)
^v Sustained rheumatoid arthritis remission is uncommon in clinical practice, Arthritis Research & Therapy, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3446437/ (Accessed: October 11, 2016)

Refer to:  Nicholas Turkas; [email protected]; +1-704-705-1801 (Arthritis Foundation media)
                Heidi Pio; [email protected]; +1-309-863-3506 (Arthritis Foundation media)
                Nan Frient; [email protected]; +1-317-471-7040 (Lilly media)

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SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company