Merck’s Kenneth Frazier will retire as CEO in late June

“It has been a distinct honor and privilege to serve this great company as CEO over the past decade,” Frazier said in the company’s profit call Thursday.

Under Frazier’s leadership, Merck became a leader in the emerging field of cancer immunotherapy and in the development of the drug Keytruda, now one of Merck’s bestsellers.

Keytruda, which treats lung cancer and other cancers, totaled more than $ 14 billion in global sales last year.

Mr. Frazier, a lawyer who has run Merck since 2011, is among the few black CEOs of S&P 500 companies and has been a leading voice in the industry in recent years encouraging companies to hire more black employees. He has also led Merck through criticism from politicians and patients about how the industry values ​​its drugs.

Three years ago, Merck’s board of directors allowed Frazier to remain CEO and no longer demanded that he retire when he turned 65 in 2019.

Despite Keytruda’s success, some investors and analysts have worried that Merck may rely too heavily on therapy for growth. In the last two years, Merck has done business for small businesses to increase its pipeline and also plans to derive some slow-growing legacy products.

Mr. Davis’ selection is a likely sign of intensified business development to reduce the company’s reliance on Keytruda, according to a note Thursday from Citigroup Inc. analyst Andrew Baum. Keytruda’s sales accounted for nearly a third of the company’s approximately $ 48 billion in revenue last year, Merck said Thursday.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Frazier worked for the law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath before joining Merck in 1992. He became attorney general in 1999 and defended Merck from allegations that his best-selling painkiller Vioxx increased the risk of ‘heart attacks and strokes. Merck agreed in 2007 to pay $ 4.858 billion to resolve thousands of claims.

Frazier is also not afraid to take on delicate, sometimes controversial issues, whether it was drug prices or former President Donald Trump.

Issues related to race and workplace have been important to Mr. Frazier. Last month he helped create a nonprofit organization with other CEOs to connect employers with black workers.

In 2017, Frazier left one of Trump’s business committees, saying it was a matter of personal conscience following Trump’s comments about racial violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Mr Frazier’s announced departure comes after the recent retirement of longtime R&D chief Roger Perlmtter, who has been succeeded by Dean Li.

Merck said Davis, who joined Merck as chief financial officer in 2014, will become president on April 1, at which time the company’s four operating divisions will begin reporting to him. Before joining Merck, Mr. Davis held roles in Baxter and Eli Lilly & Co.

Write to Jared S. Hopkins at [email protected] and Colin Kellaher at [email protected]