[Edaily Reporter KIM SAE-MI ] U.S.-based Eli Lilly, which has experienced rapid growth thanks to the success of its obesity treatments “Mounjaro” and “Zepbound,” is undergoing a comprehensive reorganization of its global sales organization. The reins of this restructuring—which integrates U.S. and international operations—have been handed to Senior Vice President Ilya Yuffa, who has been with the company for 30 years. All eyes are on Yuffa—who joined the company as a financial analyst and has led both U.S. and international operations—to see if he can sustain Lilly’s global growth amid intensifying competition in the obesity treatment market and pressure to lower drug prices.
According to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry on the 1st, Lilly announced on the 27th of last month (local time) that Patrick Johnson, President of International Operations, will step down at the end of this year. Johnson joined the company in 1990 as a sales representative in Sweden and has served for 36 years. Yuffa, who has been selected as his successor, will assume the role of President of the newly established “Lilly Global Markets” effective January 1 of next year. This position will oversee global pharmaceutical sales and customer strategy by integrating the existing U.S. and international operations.
Yupa was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and grew up in Colorado, USA. He graduated from Tulane University in 1996 and joined Lilly as a financial analyst. He later earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the London Business School. He is a commercialization expert who has built his career in finance, business development, sales, and organizational management rather than research and development (R&D).
He served as the head of the Israeli subsidiary before leading Lilly’s U.S. diabetes business and the Italian hub. Notably, while serving as head of the Italian hub, he oversaw operations in more than 25 countries. He subsequently led the Biomedicine Division and International Operations, and currently serves as President of U.S. Operations and Global Customer Capabilities. His experience leading both U.S. and international operations is cited as a key factor behind this appointment.
Analysts suggest that Lilly’s decision to entrust Yupa with the global sales organization is closely tied to the explosive growth of its obesity treatment business. Lilly’s third-quarter revenue for this year, announced on the 29th of last month, was $24.397 billion (approximately 32.68 trillion won), a 39% increase compared to the same period last year. During the same period, revenue from Mounjaro rose 65% to $10.723 billion (approximately 14.37 trillion won), while revenue from Zepbound increased 49% to $5.352 billion (approximately 7.17 trillion won). Combined sales of these two products alone totaled $16.075 billion (approximately 21.54 trillion won), accounting for about 66% of total revenue.
However, increased sales volume does not necessarily translate directly into improved profitability. While Lilly’s global sales volume in the third quarter rose 53% year-over-year, the realized price fell by 15%. Outside the U.S., sales volume increased by 76%, but the realized price dropped by 29%. This reflects factors such as the inclusion of Mounjaro on China’s National Medical Insurance Drug List. The company now faces the challenge of simultaneously addressing market expansion and price declines.
Through this organizational restructuring, Lilly aims to accelerate decision-making between its U.S. and international operations and improve operational efficiency. Under Yupa’s leadership, six regional organizations will be established: the U.S., Europe and Canada, Intercontinental, Japan, China, and India. Follow-up personnel changes were also announced, including the promotions of Laura Steel to President of U.S. Operations and Elias Khalil to President of Europe and Canada Operations.
David Ricks, Lilly’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), emphasized that Yupa has experience managing both U.S. and international operations. Lilly assessed that this experience makes him well-suited to oversee customer-facing operations worldwide. CEO Ricks will remain in his position.
The reason the South Korean biotech industry is paying close attention to this organizational restructuring is that Lilly has emerged as a major technology transfer partner. Last year alone, Lilly signed a series of technology transfer agreements totaling 911.7 billion won with Olix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(226950), 1.9 trillion won with Rznomics Inc., and 3.8 trillion won with ABL Bio Inc.(298380). All of these represent the maximum contract values, including milestone payments. This year, the company is expanding its collaboration with domestic firms, including the acquisition of a new drug candidate from HanmiPharm(128940). Last March, it agreed with #SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS to establish “Lilly Gateway Labs” (LGL) in South Korea.
Lilly is also actively pursuing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and securing external technologies, backed by its substantial financial resources. Having secured massive cash flow through the commercial success of Mounjaro and Zepbound, Lilly is simultaneously acquiring biotech companies and introducing technologies to secure promising new drug candidates and next-generation platform technologies. It is also noteworthy that the company is expanding its investment scope beyond obesity and diabetes treatments to include anticancer drugs and immunological diseases.
However, the Global Markets division headed by Dan Yupa is an organization focused on sales and market access strategies rather than new drug R&D or technology acquisition. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether this personnel change will bring about direct changes in technology transfer negotiations with domestic companies. A biotech industry insider noted, “As domestic biotech companies begin to emerge that are hoping to strike deals with Lilly, more investors are keeping a close eye on Lilly’s personnel changes,” but added, “Since this appointment relates to the global sales organization, its impact on technology transfer strategy is unlikely to be as significant as one might think.”
◇ Ilya Yupa, President-Designate of Eli Lilly Global Markets: Biography
△Born in St. Petersburg, Russia
△Bachelor’s degree from Tulane University, U.S., in 1996
△ Joined Eli Lilly as a financial analyst in 1996
△ 2002: Master of Business Administration (MBA), London Business School
△2008–2011: Country Manager, Eli Lilly Israel
△2017–2018: Head of the Eli Lilly Italy Hub
△2018–2020: Vice President of the Diabetes Business Unit at Eli Lilly (U.S.)
△2020–2021: President, Biomedicine Division, Eli Lilly
△ 2021–2025: President, International Operations, Eli Lilly
△2025–Present: President, U.S. Operations and Global Customer Capabilities, Eli Lilly
△ Scheduled to assume the role of President of Global Markets at Eli Lilly in January 2027
