Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, has entered into a strategic research and development agreement with Mayo Clinic, one of the world’s leading hospital systems, to advance the use of artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics and multimodal clinical data in drug discovery and development. The collaboration will combine Mayo Clinic Platform’s architecture and extensive clinical and genomic datasets with Merck’s AI-enabled virtual cell technologies to deepen disease understanding, improve target identification and strengthen early-stage development decisions.

Through the Mayo Clinic Platform, which securely integrates data from Mayo Clinic’s U.S. operations and its international partner network, Merck will gain access to de-identified clinical and multimodal datasets, registries and biorepositories, as well as advanced AI and machine learning tools. The newly launched Mayo Clinic Platform_Orchestrate program will also provide Merck with direct access to Mayo Clinic’s clinical and scientific expertise, enabling scalable, data-driven solutions that support research across computational and spatial biology.

The agreement, which represents Mayo Clinic’s first collaboration of this scale with a global biopharmaceutical company, will allow Merck to leverage multimodal data—including laboratory results, imaging, clinical notes and molecular data—to validate AI models and translate research insights into actionable discovery and development strategies. Both organizations aim to integrate high-quality clinical data with AI-powered analytics to enhance innovation and improve the probability of success in therapeutic programs.

The partnership will initially focus on high-need therapeutic areas across gastroenterology, dermatology and neurology, specifically targeting inflammatory bowel disease, atopic dermatitis and multiple sclerosis. By combining Mayo Clinic’s data-driven platform capabilities with Merck’s research and development expertise, the collaboration seeks to accelerate the delivery of more precise and effective therapies to patients worldwide.

The initiative builds on Merck’s broader investments in AI and machine learning technologies, including computational biology, spatial biology, AI foundation models and real-world data applications. It also underscores a shared commitment by both organizations to apply advanced technologies in a disciplined, evidence-based manner to redefine drug development and improve patient outcomes globally.