Merck (MRK) Investor Update summary

Strategic R&D focus and external innovation

• Committed to launching a new product every 18 months, leveraging both internal expertise and external partnerships for about half of future launches.

• Focused leadership in oncology, expanding from established strengths in biology and technology, and reinvesting organizational savings into the pipeline while maintaining R&D spend at low 20s% of sales.

• Active external innovation includes deals with Caris Life Sciences, Hengrui, Abbisko, and option deals for promising assets in high unmet need areas.

Oncology pipeline progress and clinical updates

• Frontline phase III assets, including Avelumab (Trillium study) and pimicotinib, have completed recruitment and are approaching key data readouts.

• Three phase III oncology trials and multiple phase Ia/Ib programs are advancing, with compounds entering the pipeline from both internal research and external sources.

• Emphasis on striking cancer cells at their core via targeted payloads, DNA repair inhibition, and immune modulation.

DNA damage response (DDR) and ADC pipeline strategy

• DDR portfolio includes four clinical assets, notably a PARP1-selective inhibitor from Hengrui, with a focus on synthetic lethality, immune response rekindling, and cytotoxic potentiation.

• Lead compounds tuvusertib (ATR inhibitor) and M9466 (PARP1 inhibitor) prioritized for ovarian and prostate cancer, with combinations targeting PARP-pretreated and naive spaces.

• Tuvusertib shows favorable safety and efficacy in monotherapy and combinations, with 38% response in ovarian cancer and 47% molecular response in evaluable populations.

• M9466 demonstrates high potency and selectivity, with up to 70% response in PARP-naive ovarian cancer and a strong safety profile.