Merck KGaA Names New Leaders Within Ethicals Division and Corporate Development

08-Nov-2005

Merck KGaA announced organizational changes on the commercial side of its Ethicals division, creating two main sections Commercial Unit CardioMetabolic Care & Operations and Commercial Unit Oncology.

Christian Velmer joined Merck on November 1, 2005, as Senior Vice President responsible for the Commercial Unit CardioMetabolic Care & Operations. He comes from Johnson & Johnson, where he was responsible for its healthcare joint venture in China. Prior to 2002 he was with Bayer AG, where he held various positions in marketing and sales in Europe and Latin America.

Dr. Wolfgang Wein has been named Senior Vice President responsible for the Commercial Unit Oncology. He joined Merck in 2004 as Head of Commercialization Oncology. Wein is a medical doctor and also studied journalism and philosophy, earning a master's degree and a second PhD. He also holds a post-graduate degree in hospital management and served as a lector for clinical pharmacology at the University of Vienna. In 1993, he switched to a career in industry, initially working for Nycomed and later Eli Lilly, where he held the position of Oncology Marketing Leader for Europe.

In addition to changes on the commercial side, the Ethicals division will combine the activities of portfolio planning, project management and commercial services in a new unit called Portfolio & Project Integration, with the goal of optimizing results from Merck's pharmaceutical portfolio of drug candidates. Elmar Schnee, President of the Ethicals Division, will assume responsibility for this unit until a permanent manager is named.

Velmer and Wein join Schnee on the Executive Committee of Merck's Ethicals Division. Other committee members include Dr. Inge Lues (Senior Vice President Global Preclinical R&D), Dr. Thomas Lander (Senior Vice President Global Clinical R&D), Alfred Koch (Senior Vice President Global Production & Supply Chain), and Nancy Wysenski (President EMD Pharmaceuticals / Head of North America).

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/50058/merck-kgaa-names-new-leaders-within-ethicals-division-and-corporate-development.html