Lilly promotes Melissa Barnes to chief ethics and compliance officer

Lilly has announced Melissa Barnes to take over as chief ethics and compliance officer once Anne Nobles retires at the end of the year.

Barnes will be promoted from her current role as VP and deputy general counsel, and will oversee the US pharma company's litigation, compliance and legal efforts.

She will report directly to company chair, president and CEO Dr John Lechleiter and will also serve on Lilly's executive committee.

Her predecessor Nobles had been with Lilly since 1990, becoming chief compliance officer in 2007.

During Nobles' time in the role, Lilly was found guilty of illegally marketing and promoting several of its drugs, including Zyprexa, resulting in a $1.4bn – at the time, the largest fine ever imposed on a US company.

As part of this settlement, Nobles agreed to lead Lilly's efforts to ensure great ethics and compliance behaviour, including the creation of four new positions in senior management.

Commenting on Nobles' departure, Lechleiter said: “Anne has provided critical leadership at a very important time for our company.

"Her contributions have been instrumental in building a comprehensive company-wide ethics and compliance programme. She has worked closely with Lilly business leaders to ensure that compliance is effectively integrated into our business plans and our day-to-day activities."