On January 19, 2026, Merck & Co. Inc. entered a multi–year collaboration with Guardant Health to integrate the Guardant Infinity Smart liquid biopsy platform into Merck’s oncology development and commercialization programs. Under the agreement, Guardant will provide comprehensive genomic profiling services to identify actionable mutations in circulating tumor DNA, enabling Merck to refine patient selection for its portfolio of immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies. The partnership builds on Guardant’s recent FDA approvals—including its 25th companion diagnostic indication—and extends coverage to over 300 million lives through Medicare and commercial payers. By leveraging noninvasive testing, Merck aims to accelerate enrollment in late‐stage clinical trials and reduce turnaround times for biomarker identification from weeks to days, enhancing its competitive position in colorectal, lung and other solid tumor indications.

Merck and Moderna reported median five‐year follow‐up results from the Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942/mRNA-4157-P201 trial in high–risk stage III/IV melanoma patients who received the personalized mRNA vaccine intismeran autogene plus Merck’s anti–PD-1 therapy Keytruda. The combination reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 49%, maintaining the same magnitude of benefit observed at the three‐year analysis. The vaccine encodes up to 34 patient‐specific neoantigens and was administered after complete surgical resection. Safety findings remained consistent with earlier reports, with no new grade 3 or higher adverse events related to the investigational agent. With an estimated 112,000 new U.S. melanoma cases in 2026, Jefferies projects peak annual sales for the melanoma indication alone could exceed $2 billion at a list price in line with Keytruda. Merck and Moderna plan to present full primary and secondary endpoint data at a forthcoming oncology congress and are enrolling in a global Phase 3 study to confirm these durable efficacy results.