[ad_1]
Merck & Co. announced the hiring of Betty Larson as executive vice president and chief human resources officer, effective Monday.
Larson brings 20 years of health care experience to the position. She succeeds Steve Mizell, who is retiring after five years in the dual role.
Larson joins Merck from GE Healthcare, where he served as chief human resources officer. There, Larson was responsible for leading strategy for the company’s human resources, corporate marketing and communications teams.
Prior to joining GE Healthcare, Larson served for four years as executive president and chief human resources officer at Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), where he led communications and social investment strategies.
Larson also previously spent 16 years at medical technology company Baxter International, where she rose from director of human resources to senior director of human resources for Baxter Pharmaceuticals and Technologies.
While at Baxter, Larson’s scope included strategic human resources leadership for the company’s $8 billion global healthcare business in 40 countries, according to LinkedIn.
These include responsibilities for Baxter’s pharmaceuticals, renal therapeutics, vaccines and hospital products businesses. She helped establish new R&D operations in China and assisted Baxter with multiple acquisitions, including the acquisition of Gambro Healthcare.
Larson also currently serves on the boards of directors of Baxter Credit Union and Fortrea.
The hire follows Merck’s approval of Winrevair, a pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The approval is a milestone for the pharmaceutical company, making the therapy the first activin signaling inhibitor therapy for the disease.
In 2021, Winrevair became part of Merck after Merck acquired Acceleron Pharma for US$11.5 billion.
Merck & Co. has made a number of hires in 2022, including Marc Levesque as vice president of immunology discovery and head of the drug company’s Discovery Science Center. In the same year, the company also appointed Aileen Pangan as vice president, immunology, and head of global clinical development therapeutic areas.
The pharmaceutical company said in its fourth-quarter 2023 financial report that sales increased 6% year-on-year to $14.6 billion, with total annual sales of $60.1 billion. Merck’s blockbuster drug Keytruda and its HPV vaccine Gardasil have helped boost that number.
[ad_2]
Source link