FEW COMPANIES have a history as long and interesting as Merck. Founded in 1668 by Friedrich Jacob Merck as a pharmacy in Darmstadt, the world’s oldest apothecary has survived several European wars, two world wars and the Nazi regime. In 1917 America’s government confiscated its American subsidiary under the Trading with the Enemy Act. It has operated as a rival business, based in New Jersey but, confusingly, also named Merck, ever since.
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Belén Garijo, the no-nonsense 60-year-old Spaniard who will take over as Merck’s chief executive on May 1st, says she is keenly aware of her
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