Pfizer and MSD have postponed their scheduled organizational reshuffle because of the COVID-19 pandemic, industry sources said Friday.

Pfizer had planned to merge Upjohn and Mylan in June but put it off to September. MSD also put off the spinoff of Organon, initially scheduled for next January, to June.

“Due to the unprecedented situation caused by the new coronavirus pandemic, we will be able to complete the merger of Upjohn’s operation division and Mylan in the latter half of this year,” Pfizer said in a statement issued on March 26. “There will be no changes in the agreement between the two companies.”

MSD also sent a notice to its executives and employees on Wednesday, announcing that the spinoff of Organon has been readjusted to June 1, 2021.

“Organon’s spinoff is part of our important strategy to meet better the needs of patients all over the world. However, we have recently judged that there would be problems with pushing ahead with the spinoff as initially scheduled, adversely affecting the members of the local community and government agencies,” MSD said. “We thus decided to reschedule the corporate spinoff by taking into account changed situations and priority for short-term continuity of our businesses.”

MSD Korea CEO Avi BenShoshan also said, “Provided that the situations will return to normal over the next several months, we will be able to attain the original goal of completing the spinoff during the first half of 2012.”

MSD Korea also plans to resume gradually its marketing agents’ promotional activities in Korea next week, except for the two hardest-hit areas of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.

“Aside from the two areas, we will not allow their activities in clinics, hospitals, public health centers, as well as coronavirus-related zones, all of which are not accessible to the pharmaceutical company employees,” it added.

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