Merck ($MRK) CEO Kenneth Frazier has taken his share of flak from Wall Street about the U.S. drug giant's spending plans. Frazier went to bat for his company's big $8 billion R&D budget this week, pointing out that in the history of the pharma biz the groups that stay on the leading edge of science come out on top. This is clearly a long-term proposition, as Merck's stock performance has lagged that of R&D-cutback-happy Pfizer ($PFE). Report