Merck R&D head passes the baton
Executive Summary
Incoming Merck R&D head Peter Kim, MD, gave a "blood oath" that "he would not change the [Merck Research Labs] recommendation on Vanlev or ever work on a drug like that," Kim's predecessor, Edward Scolnick, MD, said in introducing Kim to analysts during Merck's business review Dec. 10. The remark was apparently a reference to Merck's 2000 investor briefing during which Scolnick was asked why Merck was not working on an antihypertensive like Bristol-Myers Squibb's Vanlev. Bristol withdrew the omapatrilat NDA in April 2000 due to angioedema; the resubmitted NDA requires further study in refractory patients prior to approval (1"The Pink Sheet" Oct. 21, In Brief)...
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