New Eli Lilly CEO Ricks Says He’ll Stick With Smaller M&A Deals

Eli Lilly & Co.’s new chief executive officer said the drugmaker will stick to its strategy of small-scale takeovers, continuing to shy away from the sorts of big deals that have become common in the pharmaceutical industry.

“We don’t think big combinations in pharma make sense. This is a business driven by innovation, not cost efficiency,” said David Ricks, who became CEO of the Indianapolis-based drugmaker Jan. 1. “Expanding our portfolio of external innovation is something I’m very interested in, but big combinations is something I’m not interested in. There’s no evidence that it creates value for shareholders.”

Ricks spoke ...