Word of Frazier’s departure from Merck comes as the company stops its development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The longtime chief executive officer of pharmaceutical giant Merck, Kenneth Frazier, one of the few Black CEOs of a Fortune 500 firm, has announced his retirement after nearly 30 years with the company.
Chief Financial Officer Robert Davis has been named the new chief executive. He will assume the role on July 1.
“On behalf of the entire Merck board, I thank Ken,” said Les Brun, Merck’s lead independent director, in a statement, “for his strong and highly principled leadership and his commitment to the company’s core values of scientific excellence, business integrity, patient focus, and respect for all people.”
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The Philadelphia-born and raised Frazier, who joined Merck corporate hierarchy in 1992, was instrumental in the development of the immunotherapy drug Keytruda and Gardasil, which is a vaccine against HPV.
Word of his departure from the company comes as Merck discontinues its development of a vaccine against COVID-19. While the potential vaccines it has testing appeared safe, their protection against the virus has proven inferior. Instead, the company has turned to continuing to develop treatments for it.
Frazier pulled Merck from the manufacturing council created by Donald Trump after the former president failed to condemn white supremacists in the wake of Charlottesville protests that left one woman dead.
Source: Ken Frazier, one of few Black corporate CEOs, retiring after 30 years
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