HAYWARD, Calif.– Eikon Therapeutics Inc., a California-based biotechnology company that applies advanced engineering and high-performance computing to the identification of important new medicines, today announced the appointment of Kenneth C. Frazier as an independent director effective April 1, 2022. Among the world’s most admired global business leaders, Mr. Frazier is the executive chairman and former CEO of Merck (NYSE:MRK), chairman of health assurance initiatives at the venture capital firm General Catalyst, and a director of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM).
“It is a great honor to welcome Ken as our first independent board member,” said Roger M. Perlmutter, CEO and Chairman of Eikon Therapeutics. “Our company will benefit enormously from Ken’s deep knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry, and from his broad perspective on matters of business, law, and the needs of society. Beyond all this, Ken’s advocacy for social justice will inspire every board member, every executive, and indeed every employee of Eikon Therapeutics.”
A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Frazier received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Pennsylvania State University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Thereafter he practiced law with Drinker Biddle & Reath in Philadelphia, before joining Merck in 1992. After serving as vice president of public affairs, he rose to become general counsel, president of Global Human Health, company president, and finally CEO and chairman. Under his leadership, Merck reestablished itself among the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical companies, advancing dozens of new medicines that have improved human health around the world.
More generally, Mr. Frazier’s contributions as an attorney, a businessman, and a humanitarian, have been widely recognized. He sits on the boards of Weill Cornell Medicine, the National Constitution Center, and Cornerstone Christian Academy in Philadelphia. Mr. Frazier is also Co-Founder and Co-Chair of OneTen, a coalition of leading organizations committed to facilitating a meaningful, measurable, and lasting impact on racial and economic justice. He is also a member of numerous learned societies, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, The Business Council, the Council of the American Law Institute, and the American Bar Association, and is a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.
As a strong advocate for social justice and economic inclusion, Mr. Frazier is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Anti-Defamation League Courage Against Hate Award, the Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics from Columbia Business School, the Legend in Leadership Award from the Yale School of Management, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund National Equal Justice Award, and the National Minority Quality Forum’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2018, he received the Harvard Law School Association Award, the highest honor given by this prestigious association, in recognition of his extraordinary service to the legal profession and the public. In that same year, Mr. Frazier was named one of the World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune magazine and was also named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People and again made that list in 2021. In 2019, he became the first recipient of the Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award for Healthcare. In 2021, Columbia Business School honored him with the Deming Cup for Operational Excellence, and his peers named him Chief Executive magazine’s CEO of the Year.
“Eikon Therapeutics has taken a multi-disciplinary approach to drug discovery and created one of the most exciting new platforms that will not only advance our understanding of protein dynamics but expand the potential landscape of pharmaceutical targets. I am delighted to have the opportunity to join the company’s board of directors,” said Mr. Frazier. “I am eager to assist in defining new horizons for this remarkable young company, and I hope to use my experience in the pharmaceutical industry – and in business more generally – to assist Eikon in contributing important new medicines for the world.”
