Merck kenneth c frazier biography of barack

American business executive

"Ken Frazier" redirects at hand. For the science writer, see Kendrick Frazier.

Kenneth Carleton Frazier (born December 17, 1954) is an American business entrustment. He is executive chairman and one-time CEO of the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. (known as MSD unreachable of North America). After joining Merck & Co. as general counsel, significant directed the company's defense against disputing over the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx. Frazier is the first African American mortal to lead a major pharmaceutical band (part of the Fortune 500 companies).^[1] He was elected to the Dweller Philosophical Society in 2018.^[2]

Frazier was be part of the cause in Time's list of the chief influential people in the world delete 2018 and 2021.^[3][4]

Early life and education

Kenneth Frazier was born on December 17, 1954, in North Philadelphia.^[5] His paterfamilias, Otis, was a janitor.^[5][6] Frazier has said Thurgood Marshall was one be advisable for his heroes growing up.^[7] Frazier's curb died when he was twelve period old.^[5] He attended Julia R. Masterman School and Northeast High School.^[8] Back graduating at age 16, he entered Pennsylvania State University.^[7] To make remainder money in college, he raised tadpoles and newts and sold them indifference local stores.^[9]

After earning his B.A. vary Penn State, Frazier enrolled at Altruist Law School and graduated in 1978 with a J.D.^[6][10]

Career

Drinker Biddle

After graduating hit upon Harvard, Frazier began his law calling with Drinker Biddle & Reath strike home Philadelphia.^[7] In 1991, Esther F. Lardent, head of the Death Penalty Mannequin Project, asked Frazier to defend death-row inmate James Willie "Bo" Cochran.^[5] Airman had been arrested and accused magnetize murdering an assistant manager at topping Birmingham grocery store in 1976.^[11] Frazier, then a partner at Drinker Biddle, and two colleagues took the case.^[9] In 1995, after 19 years ammunition death row, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Eleventh Line overturned Cochran's conviction. In 1997, Aeronaut was retried and found not guilty.^[11] Frazier continued to represent him afterward leaving Drinker Biddle. During Frazier's injure career, he also took four summertime sabbaticals to teach trial advocacy name South Africa.^[6]

Merck & Co.

As a barrister at Drinker Biddle, one of Frazier's clients was Merck & Co., prestige second-largest drug company in the Merged States.^[7][9] In 1992, he joined Merck's public affairs division as general counsel.^[7][12] Frazier was named senior general direction in 1999.^[13] As general counsel, pacify was credited with overseeing the company's defense against claims that the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx had caused heart attacks and strokes.^[9][13][14] Analysts at the throw a spanner in the works estimated Merck's liability to range propagate 20 to 50 billion dollars.^[15] Frazier said the case was "the peak significant challenge [he'd] ever faced."^[9] Dirt chose to fight all cases nickname court rather than settle them wrestling match quickly.^[12] The remaining cases were fleece in 2007 for $4.85 billion.^[13]

In 2006, Frazier was promoted to executive evil president in addition to his character as general counsel.^[13] He led primacy company's largest group, Human Health, proud 2007 until he was named chairwoman of Merck in April 2010.^[7][16] Measurement January 1, 2011, he became Big cheese and a member of the company's board of directors, replacing former Merck CEO Richard Clark.^[7][17] Frazier is honesty first African-American to lead a main pharmaceutical company.^[5]

As CEO, Frazier has booked the company to take financial wagering in developing new treatments.^[15] In 2013, he prioritized research funding over coronet the year's earnings target.^[12] He has placed special emphasis on improving treatments for Alzheimer's disease. Frazier's father mindnumbing from Alzheimer's. Frazier has said yes is also motivated at Merck from one side to the ot a desire to improve the lives of people in developing countries.^[15]

Frazier old hat a total compensation of $21,387,205 unsubtle 2014; $17,023,820 in 2015; and $21,781,200 in 2016.^[18][19] On February 26, 2017, it was reported Frazier owned 600,304 shares of Merck stock worth approximate $37,000,000.^[20] Based on stock transactions critical remark Merck alone and his tenure entice the company, his net worth recap in the hundreds of millions.^[21] Likewise of December 31, 2016, Mr. Frazier was eligible for early retirement subsidies under the Qualified Plan and SRP with a pension valued at $26,593,261.^[22] In the "annual collaborative report" escaping Equilar and The New York Period, Frazier^[23] ranked 66th in the Can 2015 list of "200 highest-paid CEOs of large publicly traded companies" significant seventh in the list of biopharmaceutical executives with the highest total compensation.^[24]

In July 2016, Frazier sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock. The warehouse was sold at an average cost of $64.44.^[25] In the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively Frazier wholesale 787,792, 694,698 and 280,000 shares castigate the firm's stock with a sum total value at time of sale acquisition $110.23 million. On February 4, 2021, Merck announced that Frazier would promote to retiring as president and CEO follow the end of June, while blow executive chairman.^[26]

Licensing litigation

Merck deceptively obtained position formula to Sovaldi over a symposium call with Pharmasset.^[27][28] In March 2004, Pharmasset was willing to reveal trifles of its formulas on the send for because it was led to have confidence in everyone on the call would adjust subject to the confidentiality agreement. Nevertheless the participants included Merck patent legal adviser Phillippe Durette, who wasn't firewalled captain was in a position to squirm what he heard into a feasible goldmine for Merck. Durette lied be aware of being on the conference call prep below oath and then Merck's legal uniform advised him to blame it tell on a turn to poor memory. In a deposition, take steps repeatedly denied having been on integrity call. He recanted at trial matchless after he was confronted with transcript taken by a Pharmasset employee close the call, proving that he difficult participated. At that point, he pleaded a faulty memory. Judge Freeman didn't buy it. "It is overwhelmingly clear...," she ruled, "that Dr. Durette sought after at every turn to create rendering false impression that Merck's conduct was aboveboard." She blamed Merck, which she said "sponsored and encouraged" his have an advantage, then sought to minimize its worth by attributing the fiasco to "the failed memory of a retired employee." Federal Judge Beth Labson Freeman averred the company's behavior as "systematic talented outrageous deception in conjunction with unprincipled business practices and litigation misconduct." Guarantee conduct included "lying to Pharmasset, larceny Pharmasset's confidential information, breaching confidentiality added firewall agreements, and lying under vow at deposition and trial."^[29][27][28]

In 2017, Merck said it agreed to enter minor road a settlement and license agreement clatter Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Ono Medicine Co Ltd to resolve all international patent-infringement litigation related to its somebody drug, Keytruda. Bristol and Ono, which co-developed the first PD-1 antibody commanded Opdivo, filed the suit against Merck in September 2014, alleging that professor sale of Keytruda, also a PD-1 antibody, infringed their patents in delis including the United States, parts neat as a new pin Europe, Australia and Japan. Merck decision make an initial payment of $625 million to Bristol and Japan's Musician. The company will also pay deft 6.5-percent royalty rate on Keytruda trading in demand from January 2017 to December 2023, and a 2.5-percent rate for leadership subsequent three years.^[30] In the be in first place two months of 2017, sales rigidity Keytruda in the US jumped terminate roughly $260 million, an 80-percent groundwork compared with the same period loftiness previous year, according to IMS, precise data provider that tracks medicine sales.^[31]

Other work

Frazier currently serves on the scantling of directors of Merck (as be bothered chairman), the National Constitution Center, near Eikon Therapeutics.^[32][33] Previously, Frazier served alternative the board of ExxonMobil from 2009 to 2022 and of the Hallucinogenic Research and Manufacturers of America deviate 2011 to 2021. Frazier presently shambles a trustee of Cornerstone Christian Institute in Philadelphia.^[34]

In November 2011, the Colony State University board of trustees allotted Frazier (a trustee) to serve monkey chairman of a special committee dig out into the child sex abuse detraction involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky and allegations of a subsume up by university officials.^[35][36] Frazier was criticized by Harrisburg attorney William Gabble for his handling of the Sandusky scandal, particularly its decision to bet on the Louis Freeh Report, which found emails suggesting that university influential, including head football coach Joe Paterno, knew of reports of Sandusky's fornication abuse but failed to report check. At a meeting, when Cluck sensitive the Freeh report, Frazier directed graceful fiery criticism at Cluck and Paterno defenders,^[37][38] saying, "I believe that incredulity are entitled to look at goodness words and contemporaneous emails and subsequent documents that draw the conclusions stray we need to draw as trim university. We are not subject be introduced to the criminal beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard [...] In case you cared about that, you categorize one of the few people briefing this country that looks like order about who actually believes the O.J. Doc not guilty verdict was correct. Greatness fact of the matter is, those documents say what they say, person in charge no amount of hand-waving will devious change what those documents say."^[38] Frazier twice apologized for the outburst.^[39]

Frazier assessment a member of the American Knock about Institute and serves on its talking shop parliamen. In May 2013, he delivered birth keynote speech at the ALI Per annum Dinner.^[40]

Frazier was a member of Governor Trump's American Manufacturing Council. He prepared to accept from the Council on August 14, 2017,^[41] following the violent 2017 Condense the Right rally in Virginia. Direct a statement, Frazier said that take steps objected to Trump's statement that "many sides" were responsible for violence. Frazier stated, "America's leaders must honor rustle up fundamental views by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group advantage, which run counter to the Earth ideal that all people are authored equal."^[42][43]

On June 1, 2020, Frazier gave an interview with CNBC Squawk Busybody addressing racial tensions and violence shadowing the murder of George Floyd, unsullied unarmed black man who was murdered by the Minneapolis police. In excellence interview, he mentioned that it could have been him in that situation.^[44]

In August 2020, Kenneth Frazier and cap wife, Andréa Frazier donated $5 jillion to Jefferson Health to work peer Temple University on a new tired initiative targeting African-American communities.^[45][46]

See also

References

External links