The chief executive of Eli Lilly has criticised the current round of “mega-mergers” in the pharmaceuticals industry and ruled out his own company’s participation, in spite of pressure for further consolidation in the sector.

John Lechleiter explicitly ruled out a combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb, one company to which Eli Lilly has been linked, and told the Financial Times that he would focus instead on work to boost his company’s internal development of experimental medicines alongside selective smaller-scale deals.