Merck's R&D Chief to Retire--Update
October 02 2020 - 9:31AM
Dow Jones News
By Jared S. Hopkins
Merck & Co. R & D chief Roger Perlmutter, who turned
around the drugmaker's labs by embracing cancer immunotherapy, will
retire at the end of the year, the company said.
Dr. Perlmutter, 68, was credited with reviving the company's
labs -- and overall prospects -- by seizing on the potential of a
new kind of cancer treatment known as immunotherapy. The efforts
led to the development of the drug Keytruda, now one of Merck's top
sellers.
Keytruda, which treats lung and other cancers, notched more than
$11 billion in world-wide sales last year.
Dr. Perlmutter will be succeeded by Dean Li, Merck's senior vice
president of discovery sciences and translational medicine, who
joined the company in 2017 after holding positions in medical
research at the University of Utah.
Dr. Li, 58, also helped launch biotech companies based upon his
laboratory's research, according to Merck.
After overseeing R & D at Amgen Inc., Dr. Perlmutter took
the helm of Merck's labs in 2013 with the mission of turning around
the company's research after several setbacks. He proceeded to
eliminate layers of management and many research programs, before
realizing the potential of cancer immunotherapy and increasing its
development.
"I never lost focus of the fundamental mission of our
organization, which is to translate breakthrough research into
medicines that changed the world," Dr. Perlmutter said in an
interview.
Dr. Perlmutter will remain as a nonexecutive director through
June 30, 2021, according to the company.
Dr. Perlmutter earlier worked at Merck for several years as a
senior vice president. Before that he was a professor in the
departments of immunology, biochemistry and medicine at the
University of Washington.
Dr. Perlmutter said in the interview that ever since Dr. Li, 58,
arrived at Merck, there was talk about whether he could lead
Merck's R & D. He said Dr. Li helped lead the launch of Merck's
early research laboratories in South San Francisco, Cambridge,
Mass., and London.
"He has guided the research efforts for quite some time," Dr.
Perlmutter said.
Write to Jared S. Hopkins at jared.hopkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 02, 2020 09:16 ET (13:16 GMT)
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