R&D shakeup: Merck taps former Amgen exec Perlmutter to replace Kim

There may be an increased level of anxiety among research staff at Merck & Co. over the next few months as former Amgen executive Roger Perlmutter comes on board to replace Peter Kim as head of R&D. Perlmutter will have “broad discretion” to kill or move existing drug programs forward, according to Merck spokesperson Steven Cragle.

Dr Perlmutter who left Amgen in February 2012 after more than a decade overseeing the big biotech company’s research, was...