Stephen H. Friend, M.D., Ph.D., is executive vice president and franchise head, Oncology, for MRL.

Dr. Friend joined Merck in July 2001 after Merck’s acquisition of Rosetta Inpharmatics, where he continues to serve as president. He was instrumental in aligning molecular profiling with several key programs in Basic Research and strategically managed resources to ensure their effective integration. Molecular profiling technologies are now being applied beyond Basic Research and are providing valuable insights in Preclinical and Clinical Development.

He assumed scientific leadership over Merck’s Basic Cancer Research efforts in September 2002. Using his unique experience in gene-expression technology, he and his team are applying many new approaches to help accelerate cancer drug discovery and development at Merck. In 2005, he led the Advanced Technologies and Oncology groups where the main focus was to firmly establish molecular profiling activities throughout Merck’s laboratories around the world, as well as to coordinate oncology programs from Basic Research through human proof-of-concept (phase IIA) in Clinical Development.

Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Friend was recruited by Nobel Laureate Dr. Leland Hartwell to join the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Seattle Project, an advanced institute for drug discovery. While there, Drs. Friend and Hartwell developed a method for examining large patterns of genes which led them to co-found Rosetta Inpharmatics, which Merck acquired in 2001. Dr. Friend also held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School from 1987 to 1995 and at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1990 to 1995.

He received his B.A. in philosophy, his Ph.D. in biochemistry and his M.D. from Indiana University.

In this role, Dr. Friend leads committees that oversee drug discovery and sets early drug development strategy for the Oncology franchises.