Michael Pergine is the policy and government lead for human health commercial at Merck. As such, he is responsible for industrial and healthcare policy and government relations efforts (IP protection, Trade, biopharmaceutical sector attractiveness, access and reimbursement systems) as well as communications and patient engagement and advocacy across the entire human health portfolio of pharmaceuticals and vaccines in more than 130 countries. Michael has been with Merck for 23 years, working in the Merck Manufacturing Division, Merck Research Labs, Global Human Health, and now Global Public Policy. During his Merck career Michael has had over a dozen roles, including the Global Brand Leader for Gardasil and Gardasil 9, building the international infrastructure for Merck Vaccines, leading North American supply chain and sales & operations planning efforts for multiple therapeutic areas consistently achieving > $1 billion in annual revenue, and leading global procurement and contract negotiations supporting MRL Basic Research.