Merck is a global healthcare company that develops medicines, vaccines, and animal health products. It advances long-term health by conducting research and development to create new treatments for diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, then brings these medicines to patients, healthcare professionals, and institutions worldwide. The company’s products work by undergoing scientific discovery, clinical testing, and regulatory approval before being manufactured and sold or distributed through patient assistance programs. What sets Merck apart is its large, diversified portfolio across human medicines, vaccines, and animal health, along with a strong emphasis on R&D, global reach, and support services like Merck Connect and Merck Manuals that provide professional resources. Merck’s goal is to tackle major health threats by applying science to discover and deliver therapies that improve patient outcomes and public health across the globe.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Rahway, New Jersey
Founded
1891
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Austrian drug delivery company Cyprumed announced that MSD has initiated a Phase I clinical trial of a proprietary drug candidate formulated using Cyprumed's oral tablet technology. This marks the first Cyprumed technology programme to enter human clinical development and triggers a milestone payment under the companies' existing collaboration agreement. The study follows a non-exclusive licence and option agreement announced in April 2025 to develop oral formulations of MSD's peptides using Cyprumed's drug delivery technology. Under the agreement terms, Cyprumed is eligible to receive up to $493 million in upfront, development, regulatory, and net sales milestones. Cyprumed specialises in oral peptide formulations, focusing on technology platforms for oral administration of therapeutic peptides, including GLP-1 analogues, macrocycles, and mini-proteins.
A short-form video strategy for earning employee attention. Merck used humor to get buy in. Sept. 25, 2026 Before Merck's communications team released a single lesson in its new employee training series, it posted a run of TikTok-style sketches starring a senior communications leader. And the employee audience responded to them - the sketches pulled in nearly 1,000 subscribers to the series. At Ragan's Employee Experience Conference in Nashville last month, Craig Thomason, director of global employee and executive communications at Merck, said that employee-facing executive videos work best when leaders get on board at the outset. "When you arrive early to change, you have time to think," Thomason said. "You have time to prepare. You have time to experiment. You have time to adjust, and you can help people to understand what is happening before the uncertainty fills the silence." Thomason said the harder part is getting employees to spend two minutes watching. "When we begin with content, we often create messages to answer questions no one is asking," he said. "So when we begin with the audience, we can create something that they can use."
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the combination of WELIREG (belzutifan) and LENVIMA (lenvatinib) for treating adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma with a clear cell component following prior PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor therapy. The approval is based on the Phase 3 LITESPARK-011 trial involving 747 patients. The combination reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 26% compared to cabozantinib, achieving a median progression-free survival of 14.6 months versus 10.6 months. The objective response rate was 53% compared to 40% for cabozantinib. However, the trial's other primary endpoint, overall survival, did not meet statistical significance. This marks the first approved HIF-2α inhibitor plus tyrosine kinase inhibitor combination for this patient population. Merck and Eisai jointly announced the approval.
Bank of America met with Merck's chief medical officer and maintained its Buy rating with a $166 price target, citing confidence in the drugmaker's pipeline. The meeting focused on sacituzumab tirumotecan, an antibody-drug conjugate being tested in lung cancer, with results expected 25 October at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress. Merck's Keytruda generated $31.7 billion in 2025 sales but faces US patent expiration starting in 2028. Management claims newer drugs carry over $70 billion in annual revenue potential by the mid-2030s. The chief medical officer dismissed concerns about a failed June trial with rival Gilead Sciences, noting different patient populations. BofA analysts believe pipeline data will drive the stock's next gains, though the $166 target offers modest upside from current levels.
CDMOs are investing billions in European API capacity. Companies are responding to risks related to demand and supply chains. 24-Sep-2026 contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) are ramping up their active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) investments in Europe. A series of recent deals shows how companies are strengthening their infrastructure in the region, as they position themselves to develop and supply newer, more complex medicines, says GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform. GlobalData's monthly Bio/Pharmaceutical Outsourcing report reveals that the expansion of CDMO API capacity in Europe is taking place across several stages of the pharmaceutical value chain and has two main drivers: evolving demand and sensitive supply chains. Edita Hamzic, Healthcare Analyst at GlobalData, says: "Demand is changing. GLP-1s, peptides, biologics and other advanced therapies require more specialized manufacturing than many traditional medicines. Supply chains have become more sensitive to disruption risks; building capacity closer to European customers can provide greater supply security." There were four API investments between July and August 2026. The largest commitment comes from Bachem, the Swiss peptide and oligonucleotide CDMO, which plans to invest more than CHF500 million (about $609 million) in a new large-scale production facility at Sisslerfeld in Eiken, Switzerland, its third Swiss site. The main driver is demand for peptide APIs, particularly the rapid growth of metabolic medicines such as GLP-1 drugs for obesity and diabetes. Cambrex is investing $30 million in a new R&D facility at its Milan site. The project will add analytical development and process R&D capabilities and upgrade existing production plants, with completion expected in H2 2027. Cambrex has also acquired adjacent land for future expansion. The investment will support the earlier stages of drug development and strengthen Cambrex's ability to develop and scale complex small-molecule APIs before they reach commercial production. Théa Group and Unither Pharmaceuticals are developing a 20,000-square-meter facility in Gannat, France, with an investment of more than EUR140 million (about $161 million). Unlike a typical CDMO facility serving multiple customers, this site will be primarily dedicated to manufacture Théa's sterile ophthalmic products for the French and wider European markets. The facility expands Théa's European manufacturing capacity and supports its long-term growth. Meanwhile, German pharma group Merck, which provides CDMO services on an 'excess capacity' basis, has opened a EUR25 million (about $29 million) BioReliance testing facility in Darmstadt, Germany. The 2,000-square-meter site provides drug-substance and drug-product release testing and GMP-compliant stability studies for monoclonal antibodies and cell therapies for the company's biopharmaceutical customers. Hamzic concludes: "In addition to their importance to the companies concerned, the investments also have a strategic dimension for Europe as a whole. They will build specialized skills and jobs, strengthen pharmaceutical networks, and reduce the region's dependence on outside manufacturing capacity."