Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that Richard Peters, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as the company's President and Chief Executive Officer, effective February 6, 2017, at which time he will also be appointed to the Merrimack Board of Directors. Dr. Peters will join Merrimack from his current role at Sanofi Genzyme, where he serves as Senior Vice President and Head of Global Rare Diseases. He replaces Gary Crocker, Chairman and Interim President and CEO, who guided the company during the recent restructuring process and search for a permanent CEO and will remain Chairman of the Board.

Dr. Peters is a veteran healthcare executive with 25 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience and a proven record of building and leading organizations in diverse settings and life cycle phases: from development stage companies to large, global pharmaceutical companies. He has also served as a Senior Director at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, as a Director at Amgen, and as Chief Executive Officer of Mednav.