Elanco Announces New Innovation Leader, Additional Strategic Move to Increase Focus on High-Value, Late-Stage Pet Health Pipeline Progress

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN) today announced Ellen de Brabander, Ph.D., will become the new executive vice president of Innovation and Regulatory Affairs. de Brabander brings a proven background of accomplishment in animal health research and development, including the development of parasiticide blockbuster NexGard, as well as major vaccine products in Pet Health and Farm Animal. Current executive vice president Aaron Schacht will lead the initiative to carve out Elanco’s microbiome R&D platform as an independent biopharmaceutical company focused on developing solutions for animal and human health. de Brabander joins Elanco on October 18 and will work with Schacht to ensure a seamless transition.

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Ellen de Brabander, Ph.D., will become Elanco's new executive vice president of Innovation and Regulatory Affairs. (Photo: Business Wire)

"We are delighted to welcome Ellen to Elanco’s executive team,” said Jeff Simmons, president and CEO of Elanco. “She is a highly accomplished R&D leader with a proven track record in animal health product development, and as a global innovation and regulatory leader within PepsiCo. She is ideally suited to drive our late-stage pipeline execution as we focus on the next era of Pet Health growth in this attractive and growing market, ultimately building on the strong foundation established during Aaron Schacht’s tenure."

de Brabander joins Elanco from PepsiCo, serving as senior vice president for R&D Technical Insights, Digital Solutions, and Compliance, with global responsibilities at the company. Additionally, de Brabander spearheaded the company’s R&D digital transformation.

Prior to PepsiCo, de Brabander spent nearly two decades in animal health and pharmaceutical roles leading global R&D organizations at Merial (now Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health), Intervet (now Merck Animal Health), and the specialty chemical company DSM.

“I am energized to join Elanco and drive its robust pipeline while we continue to build on the current early pipeline at such a pivotal time of growth and innovation for the company,” said de Brabander. “The team’s innovation and purpose-driven culture matches my own for pursuing disruptive, high-impact solutions to some of the world’s greatest and most urgent challenges.”