Merck & Co. has appointed Sanat Chattopadhyay as executive vice president and president, Merck Manufacturing Division (MMD), effective April 1, 2016. Chattopadhyay will succeed Willie A. Deese who will retire on June 1, 2016 after 12 years with the company.

Chattopadhyay joined Merck in 2009 and currently serves as senior vice president of Global Manufacturing Operations (Human Health). He was instrumental in transforming Merck Vaccines' manufacturing and supply to grow and globalize the company's vaccines business. Chattopadhyay also played a key part in leading the company's launch of Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in record time by mobilizing a cross-divisional effort to overcome commercialization and supply constraints.

Deese joined Merck in 2004 to lead the global procurement team in MMD. In 2005, he was promoted to president of MMD and joined the company's executive committee. Among his many accomplishments as president of MMD was the “Target '15” strategy, a five-year program that improved both operational efficiencies in manufacturing and financial results. Additionally, Deese led the company's multi-year, strategic initiative to sharpen its commercial and research and development focus, redesign its operating model and reduce its cost base. The initiative succeeded in exceeding its goal by the end of 2015 of realizing $2.5 billion in annual net cost savings versus 2012.

Source: Merck & Co.