Rehan Verjee to head up EMD Serono

EMD Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) in the USA and Canada, today announced that Rehan Verjee has been appointed president of EMD Serono and global head of innovative medicine franchises of Merck.

"Uniting the leadership of North America with our global innovative medicine franchises will increasingly put North America at the heart of our strategy," said Belén Garijo, a member of the executive board and chief executive Healthcare at Merck, adding: "Rehan's leadership experience and track record of working across commercial and R&D makes him perfectly suited to ensure we are well positioned to deliver on the promise of our innovative medicine efforts."

For the past three years, Mr Verjee has been the executive vice president, chief marketing and strategy officer, Healthcare, at Merck in Germany, accountable for the global specialty franchises of infertility, oncology and neurology & immunology, together with global market access, business development, strategy and portfolio management and the medical device and services Unit. Prior to that, Mr Verjee led the Canadian business as managing director.