Johnston Erwin

Johnston Erwin serves as Chief Executive Officer of TRexBio. Before joining the company, he was Vice President, Corporate Business Development – Lilly New Ventures at Eli Lilly and Company. Mr. Erwin spent 36 years at Lilly. Between 2002 and 2014, he led the clinical team which made global regulatory submissions for the brands of Evista and Forteo. Under his leadership, both brands were approved in more than 80 countries and reached “blockbuster” status of greater than $1 Billion in worldwide sales each.

Starting in 2014 and until his retirement in 2021, he led Lilly New Ventures – Lilly’s internal venture capital investment team. During his tenure, the invested capital grew more than five times and was cash-on-cash positive for seven consecutive years. Given the strategic nature of Lilly’s investments, they acquired >10 companies and established collaborations with >20 companies where Mr. Erwin was part of the founding investment team, investor or board member. Upon his retirement, Lilly had >45 direct investments.