Merck Announces New Appointments in Global R&D and Strategy Leadership for Healthcare Business Sector

Darmstadt, Germany, January 13, 2022 – Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced new appointments in Global R&D and Strategy leadership for the Healthcare business sector. Danny Bar-Zohar, MD, will become Global Head of R&D and Joern-Peter Halle, PhD, will become Chief Strategy Officer.

“At the critical intersection of R&D and Strategy is a very unique opportunity to make bold choices that best position us to deliver on our fullest innovative potential for patients and for Merck,” said Peter Guenter, Member of the Executive Board of Merck, and CEO Healthcare. “With Danny and Joern-Peter, we have the perfect combination of collaboration, strategic vision and leadership, in addition to world-class experience and expertise, to move beyond the status quo and lead our innovation engine for today and for the future.”

As Global Head of R&D, Bar-Zohar will lead Research and Development, including Medical Affairs. Bar-Zohar joined Merck in November 2020 as Executive Vice President, Global Head of Development. He has more than a decade of leadership experience in pharma, having worked previously at Novartis and Teva. He brings global drug development experience from strategy to execution to this position, across almost every modality in drug development, including small molecules, therapeutic proteins, antibodies and gene therapy. Bar-Zohar’s proven track record will serve to further advance the highly innovative and differentiated early-stage assets the Merck research teams have delivered into development in recent years.

As Chief Strategy Officer, Halle will lead Strategy and Business Development. Halle brings significant experience to this role, having previously served as Executive Vice President, Global Head of Research for the last 18 months, leading discovery through pre-clinical efforts for the company’s Oncology/Immuno-Oncology and Immunology therapeutic areas. Halle also served as Senior Vice President, Head of Immuno-Oncology research, and Senior Vice President, Head of External Innovation. Halle brings more than 25 years of industry experience to this position. He joined Merck in 2005.

Both Bar-Zohar and Halle will continue to be part of the Healthcare Executive Committee and be based at the company’s global headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany.