--- description: Find out why David Ricks is on the TIME100 Health 2026 list. title: TIME100 Health: David Ricks image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt250ddc143ebdf20d/6998ce4566d4e3a5f9cbd513/T100-Health-2026-Ricks.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Feb 11, 2026 # David Ricks Speeding drug research by [Alice Park](/author/alice-park/) ## Alice Park Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent  Courtesy of Eli Lilly Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks oversees some of today’s most prescribed medications, including tirzepatide for both diabetes (Mounjaro) and weight loss (Zepbound). Lilly also produces one of only two approved treatments for Alzheimer’s, donanemab. And in December, it submitted the pill version of its weight loss drug for FDA approval. The agency will review under an expedited process, so Lilly could soon begin competing with rival Novo Nordisk’s pill, which was approved in December. Ricks joined Lilly straight out of business school in 1996, and oversaw the launch of the first genetically engineered human insulin, among other roles. Known for his emphasis on speed, Ricks isn’t above directly visiting research teams to resolve hold ups and develop drugs more efficiently. In January, he announced a new, AI-based innovation lab with Nvidia. Both companies are investing up to $1 billion to address ways that robotics and AI can streamline drug development and manufacturing processes to bring new therapies to market more quickly and cheaply. TIME100 Health: David Ricks ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362462/david-ricks-health/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362462/david-ricks-health/"},"headline":"David Ricks","datePublished":"2026-02-11T13:01:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T02:30:44.892Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362462/david-ricks-health/","keywords":["TIME100 Health 2026","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt250ddc143ebdf20d/6998ce4566d4e3a5f9cbd513/T100-Health-2026-Ricks.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"creator":"Alice Park","articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt250ddc143ebdf20d/6998ce4566d4e3a5f9cbd513/T100-Health-2026-Ricks.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-health-2026/","name":"TIME100 Health 2026"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362462/david-ricks-health/","name":"David Ricks"}}]}] ```