Mr. Lawton was born in 1949 and is a U.K. citizen. He was Managing Director of Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) U.K. and Vice President of MSD Europe, both subsidiaries of Merck & Co., Inc., until 2006, when he retired after 26 years of service at Merck. Also in 2006, the Queen of England appointed Mr. Lawton Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the Pharmaceutical Industry. During Mr. Lawton’s tenure, MSD UK achieved a high level of sustained success over many years and was the fastest growing company in the market. Mr. Lawton also spent time at Merck in France, the U.S., Canada and Spain, primarily in sales and marketing. From 2004–2006 he was president of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. He was a founding member of the U.K. Clinical Research Collaboration, the Ministerial Industry Strategy Group, the Pharmaceutical Industry Competitiveness Task Force, and helped establish the Ask About Medicines Campaign. Mr Lawton is a Non Executive Director of the UK medicines regulator, the MHRA. An Honorary Professor of the University of Wales, Mr Lawton holds undergraduate and PhD degrees in Psychology from University of London.
Psychology