Lilly’s new leaf

As Daniel Skovronsky takes the helm of Eli Lilly and Co.’s R&D business, his goal is to shake the pharma’s reputation as a fast-follower and instead advance first-in-class therapeutics with large effect sizes. To get there, he is pushing for more early stage collaborations, building biotech-like structures within R&D, and exploring new modalities synergistic with Lilly’s expertise.

Skovronsky will take over as SVP for science and technology and president of Lilly Research Laboratories on June 1, succeeding Jan Lundberg, who is retiring. Skovronsky was previously SVP for clinical and product development and joined Lilly in 2010 when the pharma acquired Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Inc...