David Bredt, Eli Lilly’s former head of neurological research, has joined Johnson & Johnson.

In his new role, Bredt will oversee the work discovering potential drugs for Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases and developing ways to measure their potential worth.

He led neuroscience at Lilly for six years, following a successful career at the University of California at San Francisco Medical School.

Lilly spokeswoman Judy Kay Moore said: “We at Lilly thank Dr Bredt for his many significant contributions to our neuroscience portfolio over the past several years and, before that, as vice president of integrative biology. We wish him well in his future endeavors.

“Lilly has a strong history in neuroscience research and development, and neuroscience remains a major therapeutic focus of ours.”

She added that the company is conducting a “robust search” for a successor.

In a similar case of ‘talent poaching’, Pfizer’s Asian R&D chief, Steven Yang, left the company in December to join AstraZeneca.