John Lechleiter to step down as Lilly CEO
pharmafile | July 27, 2016 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Eli Lilly, John Lechleiter
Eli Lilly has announced that CEO John Lechleiter is set to retire, with David Ricks to assume the role as president and chief executive officer on January 1st 2017.
Lechleiter joined the company as a senior organic chemist in 1979 and held increasingly senior roles at the pharma company before becoming CEO in April 2008, followed by his appointment to chairman of the board of directors on January 1st 2009.
He is set to be replaced by current senior vice president and president of Lilly Bio-Medicines, David Ricks. Since January 2012, he has led Lilly in therapeutic areas such as Alzheimer’s disease, immunology and urology, as well as handling the company’s global marketing function.
Aged 62, Lechleiter has led the company through the loss of patents on major drugs such as Zyprexa and Cymbalta. In recent times, drugs such as Trulicity, Cyramza and Jardiance have shown promising in boosting Lilly’s revenues into the future.
The news comes following financial results for Q2 2016 which saw revenues increase by 9% and a prediction of at least 5% average annual revenue growth through to 2020.
Lechleiter comments: “As Lilly transitions from our recent challenging period of patent expirations to a new era of growth, it is the logical time for a transition in company leadership. Dave Ricks is a capable, decisive and energetic leader who is very well prepared to succeed me as CEO. He will provide outstanding leadership for our company in the coming years.”
Ricks is feeling positive as he prepares to talk the role. He says: “Lilly has the right strategy. We’ve built a strong pipeline and have a promising portfolio of recently approved new medicines. Navigating major patent expirations in recent years, we’ve sharpened our focus and improved our vigilance and agility. Now, we must realise our growth potential in potential in an increasingly challenging global marketplace.”
Lilly’s shares rose one percentage point at the time of writing.
Sean Murray
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