Partnering in Europe: Lilly's Take on the Landscape

In this exclusive interview, live from Geneva, Fintan Walton talks to Andrew Wood, Executive Director, Global External R&D Europe at Eli Lilly & Co. They start by talking about Andrew’s function within Lilly and the company’s strategy to partner not only within its main areas of therapeutic focus, but also to be open to new opportunities or ‘white space’. They go on to discuss Lilly’s philosophy around R&D, and how current trends in the deal landscape, such as a move towards earlier stage deals and company acquisitions, may affect its partnering activities. Andrew also talks about how the establishment of Lilly’s Alliance Management system has helped the company to be a good and competitive partner. Finally, differences between opportunities in the US and Europe are considered, as well as the challenges facing Andrew and his team going forward. 

About Andrew Wood

After qualifying in medicine at Oxford University, Andrew Wood went on to spend a further decade in Oxford in the field of academic medicine, specifically in clinical pharmacology and psychiatry. In 1991, he joined Lilly, where his main focus was drug development, with particular focus on neuroscience. Since joining Lilly, Andrew has led both clinical and preclinical research activities in the UK, Belgium and Japan. In his current role in which he is focused on Europe, Andrew works at the interface between Lilly’s scientists and external innovators in the partnering arena. 

About Eli Lilly & Co.

After more than 130 years of business, Lilly has established itself as one of the major pharmaceutical companies in the world and a leading innovation-driven corporation. Headquartered in Indianapolis in the US, Lilly is developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organisations. The company’s main areas of focus are neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease and obesity, and musculoskeletal disease, although it adopts a ‘research without walls’ approach, displaying openness to new areas.