Pharmaceuticals
10 Merck business development leaders
These ten Merck business development leaders hold director and executive director roles in business development and licensing, search and evaluation, transactions and strategic alliances at Merck (Merck & Co.). A reader can learn how business development leaders work at Merck from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
01—10Andrew H. Latham
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director, Business Development & Licensing · Merck
Executive Director, Business Development & Licensing at Merck since June 2022, after serving as Director, Business Development & Licensing (2018–2022). He moved into business development from Merck's pharmaceutical sciences group, where he was Principal Scientist from 2013 to 2018.
Anusha Dwivedi
LinkedInExperience: Director, Business Development and Licensing, Transactions · Merck
Director, Business Development and Licensing, Transactions at Merck & Co. since July 2020, at director level in general management. Before Merck, the profile lists Senior Director and Director, Business Development at Progenics Pharmaceuticals (2017–2020) and business development roles at Retrophin (2013–2016).
Christopher Tan
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director, S&E, Business Development & Licensing, Infectious Diseases, Vaccines, Oncology · Merck
Executive Director, S&E, Business Development & Licensing, Infectious Diseases, Vaccines, Oncology at Merck since October 2023, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts; his profile describes serving as a Merck scientific prospector who identifies and evaluates opportunities. He was Director in search and evaluation for infectious diseases from 2017 to 2022.
Elsa Franklin
LinkedInExperience: Director, Business Development - Search & Evaluation at Merck & Co · Merck
Director, Business Development - Search & Evaluation at Merck & Co since May 2025, based in South San Francisco. She was previously Director Of Business Development at RAPT Therapeutics (2021–2025), and before that held business development and alliance management roles at Nurix Therapeutics.
Jennifer Zimmer
LinkedInExperience: Director, Strategic Alliances, Business Development & Licensing · Merck
Director, Strategic Alliances, Business Development & Licensing at Merck since February 2022, based in Rahway, New Jersey, at director level. She was previously an Associate Project Manager at Merck (2011–2022) and a Project Specialist at Schering-Plough Research Institute (1998–2011).
Kathryn H.M McAllister
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director, Business Development & Licensing · Merck
Executive Director, Business Development & Licensing at Merck since October 2018, based at the Boston Innovation Hub. She was previously Director, Licensing, Business Development at Amgen (2017–2018) and Director, Business Development & Licensing at Novartis (2015–2017), after research roles at Novartis and Amgen.
Kenneth Johnson
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director, Business Development & Licensing, Transactions · Merck
Executive Director, Business Development & Licensing, Transactions at Merck since November 2020; his profile says he structures and negotiates collaborations as part of Merck's BD and licensing team. He was previously Senior Counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright (2009–2020) and Director, Chief Patent Counsel at Credit Suisse.
Paige Cramer Lacatena
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director Business Development & Licensing HQ Neuroscience and Ophthalmology · Merck
Executive Director Business Development & Licensing HQ Neuroscience and Ophthalmology at Merck since October 2025, with a headline that places the role in search and evaluation. She was Director Business Development and Licensing, HQ Neurology and Ophthalmology (2021–2025), after global scientific affairs roles in neuroscience at Merck.
Ping Cheng
LinkedInExperience: Director, Business Development & Licensing · Merck
Director, Business Development & Licensing at Merck since June 2017, based in Kenilworth, New Jersey, after serving as Associate Director, Business Development & Licensing (2014–2017) and Senior Specialist, Licensing (2012–2014). Ping Cheng was earlier a Senior Research Biologist at Merck (2005–2012) and a postdoc and instructor at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Ricardo Mattos
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director, Global Business Development · Merck
Executive Director, Global Business Development at Merck since June 2017, after serving as Director Global Business Development (2013–2017), where his profile describes identifying acquisition and licensing targets and leading deal teams including valuation. He was earlier in business development at Eli Lilly and Company (2008–2013).
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's scope to your question, since search and evaluation, deal transactions, strategic alliances and global business development involve different work. Check which therapeutic area and deal stage the person's role covers, since that shapes what they can speak to.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How does a large pharmaceutical company organize search and evaluation by therapeutic area?
- 02How are licensing transactions structured and negotiated once a target asset is chosen?
- 03How does an alliance management team run a partnership after the deal is signed?
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About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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