Merck board waves off a forced retirement for CEO Ken Frazier, happy to extend his reign

Succession planning at Merck $MRK is going on the back burner.

Normally, CEO Ken Frazier would be prepping for the start of his last year at the pharma giant. But with Keytruda barreling into the lead in the immuno-oncology field as Frazier enjoys a hard-won rep for principled leadership, the board has waved off the company’s mandatory retirement age of 65.