Merck Sharpe and Dohme chairman to retire

Merck Sharpe and Dohme has announced the imminent retirement of Richard Clark, its current chairman and former president and chief executive officer (CEO).

Mr Clark will step down from his position on the firm's board of directors on December 1st 2011, having served as a director since 2005 and leading the company between 2005 and 2010.

He will be succeeded as chairman by Kenneth Frazier, who took over from Mr Clark as president and CEO in January of this year.

The pharmaceutical company has thanked Mr Clark for his contributions to the organisation during a career spanning almost four decades, crediting him with strengthening investor confidence and positioning the business well for the future.

He was in charge of overseeing the firm's 2009 merger with Schering-Plough, with restructuring efforts continuing to take place in order to extract maximum benefit from the move.

Mr Clark said: "It has been a great pleasure to work with the talented, dedicated people of Merck who are so committed to our mission of saving and improving lives around the world."