Lilly Announces Changes to Executive Leadership Roles
The company shifted several key presidents to adjust its global priorities.
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Lilly announced several changes to its executive leadership team.1 These changes are mostly related to the company’s international teams.
According to a press release, these changes were made as part of Lilly’s plans to increase its focus on both the US business and global therapeutic areas.
Illya Yuffa will serve as Lilly’s executive vice president and president of Lilly USA and global customer capabilities. Yuffa previously served as executive vice president and president of Lilly International. That role will be filled by Patrik Jonsson, who has served as executive vice president and president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health and president of Lilly USA (the role that Yuffa is stepping into).
Jonsson’s previous role at Lilly Cardiometabolic Health will be filled by Kenneth Custer, PhD, who has served as general manager of Lilly Canada.
In a press release, Lilly’s chair and CEO David A. Ricks said, “Thanks to Patrik's leadership, Lilly's cardiometabolic health and U.S. businesses have achieved tremendous growth over the past few years. With these changes, we will create the additional focus we need to reach the next level. I am confident that Patrik, Ilya and Ken will continue to advance our long-term strategy to discover, develop and deliver medicines that can help people live longer, healthier lives."
This news comes on the heels of Lilly’s first-quarter 2025 financial results.2 According to the company, revenue during this quarter increased 45%. This growth was driven by Mounjaro and Zepbound. The company’s EPS increased 23%, and revenue guidance was reaffirmed at $58-60 billion.
In a press release issued at the time, Ricks said, “Lilly had a solid start to the year, with 45% year-over-year revenue growth driven by strong sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound. Our pipeline continued to deliver across key therapeutic areas, with product approvals in oncology and immunology, and the exciting success of our oral incretin, orforglipron, in the first of seven late-stage studies in diabetes and obesity. To support global demand for our newest medicines, we're accelerating our manufacturing investments, as underscored by our recent announcement to build four new facilities."
As Ricks mentioned, orforglipron showed positive results in a Phase 3 trial, which Lilly reported in mid-April of this year.3 At the time, the company stated the oral GLP-1 showed significant efficacy results and that the safety profile was consistent with injectable GLP-1s that are already on the market. The trial results showed that patients taking the pill lost an average of 16 pounds.
In a press release issued at the time, Ricks said, “ACHIEVE-1 is the first of seven Phase 3 studies examining the safety and efficacy of orforglipron across people with diabetes and obesity. We are pleased to see that our latest incretin medicine meets our expectations for safety and tolerability, glucose control and weight loss, and we look forward to additional data readouts later this year. As a convenient once-daily pill, orforglipron may provide a new option and, if approved, could be readily manufactured and launched at scale for use by people around the world."
Sources
- Lilly announces transitions in executive leadership. Eli Lilly and Company. May 8, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lilly-announces-transitions-in-executive-leadership-302449512.html
- Lilly reports first-quarter 2025 financial results and highlights pipeline momentum. Eli Lilly and Company. May 1, 2025. Accessed May 8, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lilly-reports-first-quarter-2025-financial-results-and-highlights-pipeline-momentum-302443401.html
- Lilly's oral GLP-1, orforglipron, demonstrated statistically significant efficacy results and a safety profile consistent with injectable GLP-1 medicines in successful Phase 3 trial. Eli Lilly and Company. April 17, 2025. Accessed May 8, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lillys-oral-glp-1-orforglipron-demonstrated-statistically-significant-efficacy-results-and-a-safety-profile-consistent-with-injectable-glp-1-medicines-in-successful-phase-3-trial-302430985.html
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