Merck & Co.’s $1 billion deal with Google Cloud is seeking to bolster its AI credentials—and the U.S. Big Pharma has some big plans for its commercial teams.
On Thursday, April 22, Merck announced a new pact with the tech giant, allowing the pharma access to Google’s agentic AI platform across its R&D operations, manufacturing, commercial teams and corporate functions.
Agentic AI works as autonomous AI systems that are able take on increasingly complex functions and use digital tools with limited human oversight.
Much of the focus, initially at least, will be on the commercial side. Speaking to Fierce Pharma Marketing, a spokesperson for Merck outlined the key changes to come, with one major priority being engagement with doctors and healthcare providers.
“We’re completely reimagining how we create and distribute content to engage with HCPs,” the spokesperson said. “We’re leveraging our new digital backbone to build a fully integrated, agentic system that will allow us to deliver more personalized, relevant information to doctors and healthcare systems faster than ever before.”
Merck said when using Google’s AI assistant program, known as Gemini, that “we’ve already seen early indicators of success leveraging Gemini for market research insights and creation of dossiers for regulatory submissions.”
The AI integration comes at a time of some major corporate changes at Merck. Last year, the company revealed a plan to lay off thousands of staffers in a bid to save $3 billion annually by the end of 2027. And in February, it unveiled a new corporate structure, emphasizing oncology with a standalone business unit and splitting out its other pharma offerings into a separate group.
When asked whether this AI strategy would lead to more cuts, the spokesperson said: “Our competitive advantage has always been our people and our deep bench of talent. That will not change as we implement new digital technologies that propel our business forward.”
Instead, the plan is centered on productivity and to equip employees with advanced AI tools “to help them work smarter and deliver greater impact for patients while investing in the skills and support needed to promote AI fluency.”