Wolfgang Losert to retire

• Long-standing Head of Patents & Scientific Services to retire on April 30, 2021
• Kathrin Körner to succeed him on May 1, 2021

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, today announced that Wolfgang Losert, Head of Patents & Scientific Services, will retire on April 30, 2021. He will be succeeded on May 1, 2021 by Kathrin Körner, who will join the company on April 1. Like her predecessor, she will report to Kai Beckmann, the Member of the Executive Board responsible for Patents & Scientific Services.

“We are delighted that a renowned specialist like Ms. Körner has agreed to join Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. As a science and technology company, Patents & Scientific Services is an area of great importance to us, and Körner’s considerable professional expertise will help her to lead it to a successful future,” commented Beckmann. “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Wolfgang Losert. He is an outstanding patent attorney and an accomplished expert in the protection of intellectual property. With his highly dedicated, hands-on working style, he has achieved a great deal in this essential area for our company over the past 20 years. The growth we are now enjoying on the back of innovative technologies is also thanks to the efforts of him and his team,” explained Beckmann.

Losert joined Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, on September 1, 2000 as head of department and has since played a leading role in the company’s patent activities. Under his leadership, this area has developed into a close partner of the company’s research and development units. The qualified chemist previously worked for Degussa and Aventis Deutschland, among others.

Körner joins Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, from the pharmaceutical company Grünenthal, where her most recent role was as Global Head of Patents & Trademarks. She has many years of experience in the protection of intellectual property. Her career has included a management position in the patent department of the pharmaceutical company Sanofi and a partnership in a patent law firm.