Merck says Udit Batra, currently CEO and President of Merck Millipore, will lead the combined life science business of Merck Millipore and Sigma-Aldrich once the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich is completed.
The planned US$17bn deal remains subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, which the company expects to have completed by the middle of this year. Until then, Merck Millipore and Sigma-Aldrich will continue to operate as separate companies with Udit Batra and Rakesh Sachdev, President and CEO of Sigma-Aldrich, running both organisations independently. Sachdev will serve in an advisory capacity, as needed, to ensure a smooth transition.
Batra has been CEO and President of Merck’s life science business Merck Millipore since March 2014. He joined Merck in 2011 to head the Group’s Consumer Health business.
Prior to that, Batra worked at Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, where he was Head of Global Public Health and Market Access. He held a number of executive management positions at Novartis, including global Head of Corporate Strategy and Country President for the Pharma Business in Australia.
