Merck announced that its board of directors had overturned a policy requiring CEOs to retire when they turn 65, allowing Frazier to stick around past December 2019.
"CEO succession has been our top priority and removing the mandatory retirement policy enables the board to make the best decision concerning the timing of that transition," the lead board director Leslie Brun told the WSJ.
Frazier, who started at Merck in 1992, was appointed CEO and chairman in 2011.
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