Merck’s Perlmutter Is Retiring, Handing Over Keytruda To Li

Merck & Co., Inc. is in better shape now than it was in 2013 when Roger Perlmutter rejoined the big pharma as president of Merck Research Laboratories, largely because of the mega-blockbuster Keytruda. Now, the company announced on 2 October, Perlmutter is retiring and handing over ongoing research and development of the PD-1 inhibitor as well as the R&D group’s efforts to generate novel products to Dean Li, senior vice president of discovery sciences and translational medicines.

Perlmutter will officially hand over the MRL keys to Li on 1 January but will remain as executive director of the organization through 30 June 2021 to facilitate the R&D leadership transition