Merck Appoints David Weinreich as New Global Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer for Healthcare Business Sector

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Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced the appointment of David Weinreich, MD, MBA, as Global Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer for its Healthcare business sector.

Weinreich is a highly-regarded biopharma leader with extensive experience and a proven track record in R&D. He has successfully led the development of 15 approved drugs worldwide across various therapeutic areas over his more than 20-year career. In addition, Weinreich has founded multiple companies and served as a venture capitalist, board member, and biotech CEO. Weinreich joins Merck from Foresite Labs Foresite Capital Management LLC, where he served as an Operating Partner and Senior Advisor. His previous experience includes: Executive Vice President, Head, Global Clinical Development at Regeneron; Corporate Senior Vice President, Head, Global Development Specialty Medicine at Bayer; and Executive Medical Director, Global Product Area Leader (Angiogenesis) at Amgen.

“Scientific innovation is the engine that drives everything we do to transform patient care,” said Danny Bar Zohar, MD, Member of the Executive Board of Merck, and CEO Healthcare. “In David, we have a leader with a unique combination of deep scientific expertise, immense experience in drug development and successfully bringing drugs to the finish line, and global perspective-along with the clarity and boldness to shape a next-generation R&D strategy. His appointment marks an exciting step forward as we work to bring more medicines to more patients, faster.”

As Global Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer, Weinreich will lead Research and Development for the Healthcare business sector of Merck, including Medical Affairs. Weinreich brings to Merck an exceptional record of success in leading early-stage and late-stage development, with leadership responsibility in achieving approvals across the globe for multiple therapies and indications. He has extensive experience in shaping R&D strategies that deliver meaningful value to patients and drive sustainable growth for future innovation investments. He also has effectively managed large and complex pipelines and global R&D teams.

“Joining Merck at such a pivotal moment in its growth journey offers a rare opportunity to lead scientific innovation with the potential to have a profound impact on patients’ lives,” said Dr. Weinreich. “This is an organization with a strong legacy, deep scientific capabilities, and a clear commitment to delivering meaningful value where it’s needed most. I look forward to working with teams around the world to advance a clear R&D strategy grounded in urgency, collaboration, and purpose.”

Weinreich will be based in Billerica, Massachusetts at the company’s Research and Development site.

About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. More than 62,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices the company is everywhere. In 2024, Merck generated sales of 21.2 billion in 65 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare, and EMD Electronics in electronics.

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