Merck Announces Appointment of Dr. Julie Gerberding as Executive Vice President for Strategic Communications, Global Public Policy and Population Health
December 10, 2014 9:30 am ET
Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada,
today announced the appointment of Dr. Julie Gerberding, 59, as
executive vice president for strategic communications, global public
policy and population health, effective Dec. 15. In this newly created
Executive Committee position, Gerberding, who most recently served as
president of Merck Vaccines, will be responsible for Merck’s global
public policy, corporate responsibility and communications functions, as
well as the Merck Foundation and the Merck for Mothers program.
Gerberding will also lead new partnership initiatives that accelerate
Merck’s ability to contribute to improved population health, a measure
of impact that is increasingly valued by governments and other global
health organizations.
“Julie has been instrumental in making Merck’s vaccines more accessible
and affordable, particularly in emerging markets and many of the world’s
most resource-limited countries,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and
chief executive officer, Merck. “Julie’s leadership of our vaccines
business and her exceptional track record in both the public and private
sectors make her ideally suited to lead these areas and to advance our
engagement with organizations around the world that, like Merck, are
working to advance population health.”
Gerberding joined Merck as president of Merck Vaccines in January 2010.
Since then, Merck’s vaccines are reaching more people than ever, and
Merck became the global leader in the vaccine market based on sales. In
addition, the Sanofi Pasteur MSD joint venture in Europe, Merck’s
European vaccine business for which Gerberding is the Board co-chair,
has improved in both population reach and financial performance. She
also helped lead the successful launch in India of the Merck Wellcome
Trust non-profit joint venture for vaccine development, the MSD Wellcome
Trust Hilleman Laboratories.
Prior to joining Merck, Gerberding served as director of the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2002-2009 and
before that served as director of the Division of Healthcare Quality
Promotion. Before joining the CDC, Gerberding was a tenured faculty
member in Infectious Diseases at the University of California at San
Francisco (UCSF). She continues as an Adjunct Associate Clinical
Professor of Medicine at UCSF.
“People across health systems everywhere are realizing that no single
organization can solve the complex challenges we face. Whether
containing the current Ebola outbreak, increasing vaccination rates or
improving the overall health of people in communities, partnerships
between public and private sector organizations are essential,” Dr.
Gerberding said. “Merck has a unique role and a responsibility to
contribute, and I welcome this opportunity to lead teams of experts who
will help us achieve our mission of saving lives and improving health
around the world.”
Jacques Cholat, currently vice president, global vaccines marketing and
commercial operations, has been appointed interim president of Merck
Vaccines. “Jacques’ leadership has enabled Merck to significantly expand
the global reach of its global vaccines business,” Mr. Frazier said.
Cholat joined Merck from Sanofi Pasteur in November 2011, where he had
served as vice president of Sanofi Pasteur international commercial
operations since July 2002.
About Merck
Today’s Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be
well. Merck is known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada.
Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and
animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than
140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also
demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through
far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information,
visit www.merck.com
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Forward-Looking Statement
This news release includes “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based
upon the current beliefs and expectations of Merck’s management and are
subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying
assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize,
actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry
conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest
rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of
pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the
United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost
containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained
by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development,
including obtaining regulatory approval; Merck’s ability to accurately
predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays;
financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk;
dependence on the effectiveness of Merck patents and other protections
for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including
patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.
Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be
found in Merck’s 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at
the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).
Merck
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Lainie Keller, 908-236-5036
or
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