Merck, Mayo Clinic Link Clinical Data and AI to Strengthen Early Drug Development Decisions

Merck and Mayo Clinic have announced a new research and development collaboration aimed at applying artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics to drug discovery and precision medicine.¹

The agreement brings together Mayo Clinic’s clinical data ecosystem and platform infrastructure with Merck’s growing investment in AI-enabled research, particularly in areas such as virtual cell modeling and early-stage discovery.

Partnership crafted around data platform

At the center of the collaboration is the Mayo Clinic Platform, which aggregates de-identified clinical, genomic, and multimodal datasets within a secure environment. Through the partnership, Merck will gain access to this data alongside advanced analytics tools and scientific expertise to support model development and validation.

“New cutting-edge technologies are enhancing our ability to innovate with the potential to bring important new therapies to patients faster,” said Robert M. Davis, chairman and CEO of Merck, in a company statement. “By working with Mayo Clinic, we aim to integrate high-quality clinical data and AI-enabled insights into discovery research to improve target identification and, ultimately, the probability of success for our programs.”

The collaboration will leverage a wide range of data types, including laboratory results, imaging, clinical notes, and molecular data. These inputs are expected to support a more comprehensive understanding of disease biology and enable more informed decision-making earlier in development.

Merck gains access to diverse datasets

Mayo Clinic’s Platform_Orchestrate program will serve as a key component of the partnership, providing Merck with direct access to curated datasets, registries, and biorepositories, along with the ability to scale analytical approaches across use cases.

“By combining Mayo Clinic Platform's de-identified data, clinical expertise and Platform technology with Merck's world-class research and development capabilities, we are poised to speed innovative breakthroughs to patients and redefine drug development,” added Gianrico Farrugia, MD, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic, in the statement. “This collaboration represents a new present and future for healthcare—one where platform-based collaboration leads to more answers, more cures and better outcomes for patients worldwide.”

The companies said the initial focus will center on high-need therapeutic areas where multimodal data and AI-driven insights may offer the greatest impact. These include inflammatory bowel disease within gastroenterology, atopic dermatitis in dermatology, and multiple sclerosis in neurology.

New deal continues industry momentum of AI collaborations

The effort also reflects a broader shift toward integrating real-world and clinical data sources into discovery workflows, particularly as AI models require increasingly diverse and high-quality datasets to generate actionable insights.

For Merck, the agreement builds on a series of ongoing investments in AI and machine learning across research and development. These initiatives span computational and spatial biology, foundation models, and the use of real-world data to inform development strategies.

Mayo Clinic, for its part, described the collaboration as its first strategic partnership of this scale with a global biopharmaceutical company, signaling a growing role for platform-based approaches in connecting healthcare data with drug development.

Together, the organizations are positioning the collaboration as a way to bridge clinical insight and early research, with the goal of improving both the efficiency and success rates of drug development programs.

Recent industry deals

This new partnership between Mayo Clinic and Merck follows the announcement of a collaboration between Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, and Bristol Myers Squibb with Evinova.²

A central component of the collaboration is an opt-in data-sharing model that aggregates operational data to generate benchmarks and AI-driven recommendations.

“This strategic collaboration with Evinova harnesses AI to accelerate clinical development, which we believe will significantly improve productivity gains, deliver faster trials, and enhance patient experience,” said Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, in a press release from the time of the announcement.

References

1. Merck and Mayo Clinic Announce New Research and Development Collaboration to Support AI-Enabled Drug Discovery and Precision Medicine. News release. Merck. February 18, 2026. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.merck.com/news/merck-and-mayo-clinic-announce-new-research-and-development-collaboration-to-support-ai-enabled-drug-discovery-and-precision-medicine/

2. Evinova Expands AI-Native Clinical Platform Through Strategic Pharma Collaborations. Applied Clinical Trials. February 20, 2026. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.appliedclinicaltrialsonline.com/view/evinova-expands-ai-native-clinical-platform-strategic-pharma-collaborations