Merck & Co names Frazier as next CEO; Clark to continue as chairman; Seattle Genetics adds two VPs ahead of drug launch

In a move that was widely expected, the board of US drugs giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) announced the election of Kenneth Frazier, currently the firm’s president, as chief executive and president, as well as a member of the board, effective January 1, 2011. Mr. Frazier will succeed Richard Clark, who has served as Merck's CEO since 2005 and will continue as chairman of the board.

Since his appointment as Merck's president in April this year, Mr Frazier it was anticipated that he would take over from Mr Clarke, who turns 65 - the company’s mandatory retirement age - in March next year. In the press release announcing his appointment, Mr Frazier said he was "looking ahead to a period of dramatic industry change,” saying later that, “for Merck to be a leader in the future, we must continue to adjust our operating model and achieve a level of transformation never before seen in our industry.”

In his current position, Mr Frazier has focused on improving the effectiveness of the company's three largest divisions - pharmaceutical and vaccine sales and marketing, research and development, manufacturing and supply - and their post-merger integration. Under his leadership, Merck has driven the growth of key products, expanded its global reach, launched new products, and advanced a robust late-stage R&D pipeline, the company said. Also, in his three years as president of global human health, Mr Frazier helped design and implement a ground-breaking, new global commercial sales model, maintained solid sales momentum during merger integration, dramatically improved the division's cost structure, and redeployed resources into high growth emerging markets, Merck noted.