Richard T. Clark Elected PhRMA Boar...( WASHINGTON March 28 -- Richard T...),Health

WASHINGTON, March 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Richard T. Clark, Chief Executive Officer and President of Merck, was elected board chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) today at the trade association's annual meeting. Also elected were AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer David Brennan as chairman-elect of the PhRMA board of directors and Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey B. Kindler as board treasurer.

In addition, PhRMA announced that Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America President Mark Booth, Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals Chief Operating Officer Gregg Lapointe and Ovation Pharmaceuticals President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey S. Aronin are new full members of PhRMA's board of directors.

Wyeth President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Poussot, Eli Lilly President and Chief Operating Officer John C. Lechleiter, and GlaxoSmithKline President, U.S. Pharmaceuticals Chris Viehbacher also recently joined the PhRMA board for the first time.

Mr. Clark succeeds Kevin Sharer, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Amgen, as PhRMA's chairman.

"Kevin has provided steady and motivating guidance to our industry during his tenure -- a time when challenges are significant but our companies' commitment to research and development remains strong," said PhRMA President and Chief Executive Officer Billy Tauzin. "We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude and appreciation for his tireless leadership."

"It's been an honor serving as chairman for the past 18 months during a challenging time for our industry. Going forward, we must ensure that we continue to deliver new treatments and cures for patients, improve patient access and protect and advance innovation," Sharer said. "I want to thank Billy Tauzin for a great working partnership and for his leadership."

Mr. Clark has been chairman of Merck's board of directors since April 2007 and has been the
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