Vice President & Chief Licensing Officer,
Merck & Co.

Barbara Yanni is Vice President and Chief Licensing Officer of Merck & Co., Inc. She leads the Corporate Licensing group which is responsible for negotiating agreements to acquire compounds, programs and new technologies to complement Merck's research programs and pipeline. Barbara works closely with her scientific colleagues at Merck to ensure that the company has access to discoveries that will enhance Merck’s ability to bring new medicines to the market. Barbara and her team have played a major role in the significant increase in Merck's external relationships in recent years. In the past five years, Merck has executed almost 240 significant licensing transactions in all stages, from technologies and early research collaborations to Phase III development candidates.

Before joining Corporate Licensing, Barbara was Executive Director of Corporate Development at Merck where she negotiated acquisitions, divestitures and other business arrangements. Barbara has also worked in other positions in Merck’s Finance area including Financial Evaluation and Analysis, Treasury and Tax. She joined Merck in 1985 as Domestic Tax Counsel after working as a tax lawyer for several years at Bristol-Myers and in private practice. Barbara graduated from Stanford Law School and Wellesley College. She also holds a Masters of Law in Taxation from New York University.