Merck Announces New Leadership for Human Health Business

KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced new leadership for its Human Health business. Arpa Garay will lead Human Health Global Marketing, Jannie Oosthuizen will lead Human Health U.S., and Merck is recruiting externally to fill the Human Health International role. In the interim, Deepak Khanna will lead Human Health International. These three positions will sit on the Executive Team and report directly to Robert M. Davis, chief executive officer and president, Merck. These appointments will be effective Feb. 28, 2022.

“Our human health business has a remarkable track record of operational excellence, strategic execution and strong results, and our deep bench of global talent has made that possible,” said Mr. Davis. “These appointments will enable us to build on this momentum, develop our internal talent and expand our high performing senior leadership team. I am confident that this structure will help to further focus and optimize our business operations and ensure we are well positioned to achieve our business goals and continue to save and improve lives.”

Arpa Garay, Human Health Global Marketing

Arpa Garay will lead Human Health Global Marketing, with responsibility for Merck’s long-term strategy across the human health portfolio. Prior to this role, Garay led Global Marketing and Digital for Oncology, and previously led Global Marketing for Pharmaceuticals, Commercial Analytics and Digital Marketing from 2019 to 2021. Garay joined Merck in 2006 and has served in a wide range of commercial and marketing roles with increasing responsibility. Before joining Merck, Garay was a consultant with Monitor Deloitte.

Jannie Oosthuizen, Human Health U.S.

Jannie Oosthuizen will lead Human Health U.S., with P&L responsibility for Merck’s largest business. Prior to this role, Oosthuizen led Global Marketing for Oncology, and previously led Merck’s business in Japan from 2016 to 2020. Oosthuizen joined Merck in 2014 to lead oncology in Asia Pacific and Latin America. Prior to Merck, Oosthuizen spent 20 years at Eli Lilly in a wide range of commercial and marketing roles with increasing responsibility.

Deepak Khanna, Human Health International

Deepak Khanna will lead Human Health International on an interim basis, with P&L responsibility for Merck’s human health business in more than 100 markets outside of the U.S. Khanna currently leads Human Health EUCAN (Europe and Canada), a role he has held since 2021. Prior to this role, Khanna led Oncology for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Canada from 2013 to 2020. Khanna joined Merck in 1988 in field sales and has served in a wide range of commercial and marketing roles with increasing responsibility.

About Merck

For over 130 years, Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases in pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. We demonstrate our commitment to patients and population health by increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and animals – including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola, and emerging animal diseases – as we aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA

This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’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 the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19); 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; the company’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 the company’s patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company 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 the company’s 2020 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).

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