UPDATE 1-Merck veteran named R&D chief, after drug setbacks

(Adds analyst comment, details on Merck, Amgen drugs)

By Ransdell Pierson

March 7 (Reuters) - Merck & Co will bring back one of its veterans to head research and development, replacing retiring Peter Kim, who leaves behind a mixed record over the past decade at the drugmaker's highly respected laboratories.

Merck, after recent setbacks for some of its most important experimental drugs, said former Amgen Inc research chief Roger Perlmutter will take over from Kim on April 15, although Kim, 55, will stay on as a company advisor until August.

"This is an acknowledgement by Merck that the status quo wasn't getting desired results," said analyst Barbara Ryan of Barbara Ryan Advisors.

The appointment represents a homecoming for Perlmutter, 60, who joined Amgen in February 2001 after four years with Merck, where he oversaw global basic research and preclinical development. While at Amgen sales of its Epogen and Aranesp anemia drugs plunged due to safety concerns.

But Perlmutter helped Amgen, the world's biggest biotechnology company, branch out into new areas -- including successful development of Prolia for osteoporosis and Sensipar, used to treat dangerously high calcium levels in the blood. It is testing treatments for cancer, cholesterol, psoriasis and a promising new type of osteoporosis drug.

Most of the Amgen drugs are biologics, meaning they are injectable products made in living cells and involve a costly manufacturing process. But biotech drugs command far higher prices than conventional pills, making them an increasing focus for drugmakers.

"Merck may become more aggressive now in acquiring and developing more biotech drugs," with Perlmutter as research chief, Ryan predicted.

Perlmutter became Amgen's research chief only months after Kim, then a 42-year-old professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was selected to head research at Merck.

Merck has had several big successes under Kim's watch, including development of its blockbuster Januvia diabetes medicine, its Gardasil vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, its Zostavax shingles vaccine and its Isentress treatment for HIV. But more recently, it has been hurt by failed trials of cholesterol treatment Tredaptive and migraine drug telcagepant, and a regulatory delay for a new type of osteoporosis medicine called odanacatib.

Merck's Vioxx arthritis drug was recalled in 2004 after being linked to heart attacks and strokes, forcing Kim to defend controversial clinical trials of the pill that were conducted before his arrival.

New medicines are badly needed at Merck, where sales of its onetime $6 billion-a-year Singulair asthma drug are plunging due to generic competition and other medicines will soon face cheaper generics. Moreover, cost savings from Merck's 2009 purchase of rival Schering Plough have mostly dried up and are no longer able to boost company earnings.

"On balance, most investors we speak with have been disappointed by Peter Kim's tenure as head of Merck's R&D," Leerink Swann analyst Seamus Fernandez said in a research note on Thursday.

"We believe a transition makes sense at this time." Fernandez said he believed Perlmutter's 10-year tenure at Amgen were "constructive. Overall he strikes us as a thoughtful straight shooter and a decisive leader."

Merck praised Kim's tenure. "His contributions have positioned us well for future success."

Shares of Merck were down nearly 1 percent in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting By Ransdell Pierson; editing by Carol Bishopric)

((ransdell.pierson@thomsonreuters.com)(646 223 6030)(Reuters Messaging: ransdell.pierson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: MERCK PERLMUTTER/

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Merck veteran named research chief, after drug setbacks

By Ransdell Pierson

March 7 (Reuters) - Merck & Co will bring back one of its veterans to head research and development, replacing retiring Peter Kim, who leaves behind a mixed record over the past decade at the drugmaker's highly respected laboratories.

Merck, after recent setbacks for some of its most important experimental drugs, said former Amgen Inc research chief Roger Perlmutter will take over from Kim on April 15, although Kim will stay on as a company advisor until August.

The appointment represents a homecoming for Perlmutter, who joined Amgen in February 2001 after four years with Merck, where he oversaw global basic research and preclinical development. While at Amgen sales of its Epogen and Aranesp anemia drugs plunged due to safety concerns.

Perlmutter left Amgen in February 2012 and has served since then as a board member of several smaller biotech companies.

But Perlmutter helped Amgen branch out into new areas, including successful development of Prolia for osteoporosis and Sensipar, used to treat dangerously high calcium levels in the blood.

Perlmutter became Amgen's research chief only months after Kim, then a 42-year-old professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was selected to head of research at Merck.

Merck has had several big successes under Kim's watch, including development of its blockbuster Januvia diabetes medicine and its Isentress treatment for HIV. But more recently, it has been hurt by failed trials of cholesterol treatment Tredaptive and migraine drug telcagepant, and a regulatory delay for a new type of osteoporosis medicine called odanacatib.

Merck's Vioxx arthritis drug was recalled in 2004 after being linked to heart attacks and strokes, forcing Kim to defend controversial clinical trials of the pill that were conducted before his arrival.

New medicines are badly needed at Merck, where sales of its onetime $6 billion-a-year Singulair asthma drug are plunging due to generic competition and other medicines will soon face cheaper generics. Moreover, cost savings from Merck's 2009 purchase of rival Schering Plough have mostly dried up and are no longer able to boost company earnings.

"On balance, most investors we speak with have been disappointed by Peter Kim's tenure as head of Merck's R&D," Leerink Swann analyst Seamus Fernandez said in a research note on Thursday.

"We believe a transition makes sense at this time." Fernandez said he believed Perlmutter's 10-year tenure at Amgen, the world's biggest biotechnology company, were "constructive. Overall he strikes us as a thoughtful straight shooter and a decisive leader."

Merck praised Kim's tenure. "His contributions have positioned us well for future success."

Shares of Merck were down nearly 1 percent in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting By Ransdell Pierson; editing by Carol Bishopric)

((ransdell.pierson@thomsonreuters.com)(646 223 6030)(Reuters Messaging: ransdell.pierson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: MERCK PERLMUTTER/

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Sally Jewell, CEO of REI, Will Be Named As New Secretary Of The Interior

News outlets reported this morning that President Obama will name Sally Jewell, CEO of the outdoor company REI, as his next Secretary of the Interior.  As the Washington Post wrote, Jewell:

…has earned national recognition for her management skills and support for outdoor recreation and habitat conservation.  In 2011 Jewell introduced Obama at the White House conference on “America’s Great Outdoor Initiative,” noting that the…outdoor-recreation industry supports 6.5 million jobs.

The Department of the Interior is the agency responsible for the management of 700 million acres of public lands onshore, in addition to nearly a billion acres offshore.  It oversees areas important to American culture and history, like national parks and national seashores, in addition to a significant amount of fossil and renewable energy development like solar energy and offshore wind.

Jewell, if confirmed by the Senate, embodies the true meaning of conservation in the 21st century.  At the helm of a $2 billion dollar company, she understands the economic value of conservation that requires it to be on equal ground with energy development on public lands.  This type of leadership is particularly important in a time of changing climate.

But a steady chorus is growing to encourage a better balance between energy development and conservation when it comes to public lands and
waters.  In fact, just yesterday, former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt called on the current administration to permanently protected one acre for every one leased for oil and gas development.  He noted that:

So far under President Obama, industry has been winning the race as it obtains more and more land for oil and gas. Over the past four years, the industry has leased more than 6 million acres, compared with only 2.6 million acres permanently protected.  This lopsided public land administration in favor of the oil and gas industry cannot continue.

There are a number of important and controversial decisions regarding public lands and waters that are upcoming.  But the nomination of Sally Jewell seems to indicate a recognition that other uses of public lands and waters like scenery, conservation, clean air and water, and their role in adaptation to climate change are just as important—especially economically—as energy development.

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New Hawaiian Senator To Be Named On Wednesday

New Hawaiian Senator To Be Named On Wednesday | Hawaii will get a new senator on Wednesday to replace Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), who passed away last week. Inouye, 88, was the longest serving member of the Senate and third in line for the presidency. Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) announced on Christmas Eve that he would appoint a replacement for Inouye’s seat, after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pressed him to act quickly before the so-called fiscal cliff negotiations. Once Inouye’s seat is filled, Democrats will have a 53 vote majority in the Senate. Inouye’s replacement will serve a two-year term as the state’s senior senator. Hawaii will also send Senator-Elect Mazie Hirono (D) to Congress in January, the nation’s first Buddhist senator.

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