Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and CEO of Merck, was elected chairman of the board of the Wash. D.C.-based Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). At the board meeting, PhRMA’s president and CEO John J. Castellani announced he will be retiring Jan. 1, 2016. 

Frazier formerly held the position of chairman-elect and succeeds Ian C. Read, chairman and CEO of Pfizer. Also elected were George A. Scangos, Ph.D., CEO of Biogen, as chairman-elect of the PhRMA board of directors, and Joaquin Duato, worldwide chairman, pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, as board treasurer.

Before becoming chairman and CEO of Merck in 2011, Frazier was president of Merck with responsibility for the company’s three major divisions: Global Human Health, Merck’s sales and marketing division for pharmaceutical and vaccine products; Merck Manufacturing, the company’s manufacturing and supply division; and Merck Research Laboratories, Merck’s research organization. Previously, he was president of Merck Global Human Health from 2007 to 2010 and as general counsel, overseeing Merck’s legal and public affairs functions and the Merck Foundation from 1999 to 2007.

In addition to his position with PhRMA, Frazier sits on the boards of Weill Cornell Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Exxon Mobil, the Pennsylvania State University and Cornerstone Christian Academy in Philadelphia.

Scangos was appointed CEO of Biogen in June 2010. He joined the company from Exelixis, where he was president and CEO since October 1996. From 1987 to 1996, Scangos held various positions at Bayer, including senior vice president of R&D, and president of Bayer Biotechnology, where he was responsible for research, business development, process development, manufacturing, engineering and quality assurance of Bayer’s recombinant products. Previously, he was professor of biology at Johns Hopkins University.

Duato became worldwide chairman, pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, in January 2011.  Previously, Duato held the positions of company group chairman, the Americas, and company group chairman, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. Duato joined Johnson & Johnson in 1989 in Janssen-Cilag Spain and later became managing director of Janssen-Cilag Italy. He then led Ortho Biotech Europe before relocating to the U.S. in 2002 as vice president for the Ortho Biotech Oncology Franchise. He was named president, Ortho Biotech Products, in 2005.

Castellani will step down as president and CEO of PhRMA after leading the association since September 2010. The search for Castellani’s successor will begin immediately and will be led by the PhRMA board's nominations and compensation committee. Korn Ferry has been retained to conduct the search.