Darren Carroll is now senior vice-president of corporate business development at Eli Lilly after last year’s promotion but he still keeps control of its global corporate venturing program he had founded back in 2005.
Lilly Ventures and its Asia-focused peer, Lilly Asian Ventures, had developed out of Carroll’s earlier work on the open innovation market in physical sciences through spinning out InnoCentive from the company,
Carroll was then promoted to vice-president of corporate business development in 2010, having originally joined Eli Lilly as an attorney in 1996.
In his latest role, Carroll is in charge of all strategic corporate venturing efforts including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, business collaborations, private equity investments and out-partnering. He reports to Derica Rice, the company’s executive vice-president of global services and chief financial officer.
At the time of his promotion, Carroll said: “The companies that are most effective at external innovation leverage a strong internal innovation capability. Our long-term commitment to scientific excellence at Lilly is the foundation for success in identifying, accessing and shaping external innovation.
“It has been recognised by partners that range from startups to other top-10 pharmaceutical companies, and it is a critical reason why we are attractive as a partner: We are all in on innovation.”
Lilly also has a capital funds strategy, which Carroll on his LinkedIn profile said had yielded two VC funds independently managed by HealthCare Ventures and TVM with more than 10 new companies working toward clinical proof of concept, plus the acquisition of Artaeus from Atlas Ventures.
US-based Lilly Ventures was set up first with $200m. It has 19 portfolio companies on its website, led by a team run by Edward Torres, co-founder and managing director. The Asian team, however, has grown quickest since its start in 2008 with $100m, as it now has 32 portfolio companies.
The Lilly Asia team is headed by managing partner and star investor Fei Chen, with his colleague Judith Li selected for a GCV Rising Stars 2016 award. Caroll had recommended both for the award and said: “They [Li and Chen] have been very active and I expect them to remain so.”
For her award, Li said: “In Fund III, we are pioneering a few innovative cross-border deal structures that can help leverage each geography’s unique strengths.
“Using these structures, we will be able to bring in some truly cutting-edge technologies into the China market – something that has never happened before. Several of our investments have already increased significantly in value, indicating the potential that can be unlocked.
“There could be an era of better cross-industry collaboration coming. Healthcare has always been overly siloed and strong syndicates of CVC could help bridge leading corporations across different sub-industries. Particularly in Asia, having an investment from and being affiliated with a strong multinational brand is attractive to young companies. Our Lilly connection is a powerful platform in securing deals and providing post-investment value-add.”
It is a platform built by Carroll to help its parent remain a “top-10 innovation-based pharmaceutical company”.