WASHINGTON, March 28 Richard T. Clark, Chief Executive Officer and President of Merck, was elected board chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) today at the trade association's annual meeting. Also elected were AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer David Brennan as chairman-elect of the PhRMA board of directors and Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey B. Kindler as board treasurer.
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In addition, PhRMA announced that Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America President Mark Booth, Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals Chief Operating Officer Gregg Lapointe and Ovation Pharmaceuticals President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey S. Aronin are new full members of PhRMA's board of directors.
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Wyeth President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Poussot, Eli Lilly President and Chief Operating Officer John C. Lechleiter, and GlaxoSmithKline President, U.S. Pharmaceuticals Chris Viehbacher also recently joined the PhRMA board for the first time.
Mr. Clark succeeds Kevin Sharer, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Amgen, as PhRMA's chairman.
"Kevin has provided steady and motivating guidance to our industry during his tenure -- a time when challenges are significant but our companies' commitment to research and development remains strong," said PhRMA President and Chief Executive Officer Billy Tauzin. "We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude and appreciation for his tireless leadership."
"It's been an honor serving as chairman for the past 18 months during a challenging time for our industry. Going forward, we must ensure that we continue to deliver new treatments and cures for patients, improve patient access and protect and advance innovation," Sharer said. "I want to thank Billy Tauzin for a great working partnership and for his leadership."
Mr. Clark has been chairman of Merck's board of directors since April 2007 and has been the company's chief executive officer and president since May 2005. Prior to assuming the top management spot, he was president of the Merck Manufacturing Division from 2003 to 2005.
During his 35-year career with Merck, Mr. Clark has held a wide range of operating and strategic positions in manufacturing, managed care and quality control. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Medco Health Solutions from June 2002 to March 2003 and as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Merck-Medco from 1997 to 2000. Under his leadership, Medco Health emerged as a dominant company in the pharmacy benefits management industry. Mr. Clark began his career at Merck in 1972 as quality control inspector and industrial engineer.
As he assumed the chairmanship of PhRMA, Mr. Clark welcomed the chance to lead the board during what promises to be a key year for the organization and its members. "This is a time of real challenge and change for the industry and one of real opportunity as well," Clark said. "Millions of people live longer and better as a result of the inspired and dedicated work of our employees, yet we still need to do more and set the bar for ourselves even higher. We must work together with our stakeholders to create more transparency and build more trust."
"As the debate over the future of health care in America takes shape, we renew our commitment to work with all stakeholders to preserve and strengthen the policies that are so critical to our member companies and to patients here in the U.S. and abroad," said Tauzin. "Together, we must ensure that America's pharmaceutical research companies are able to continue to lead the world in the development of life-changing medicines -- and that patients fighting disease have access to needed treatments and cures. I look forward to tackling these challenges with Dick and th
