As Big Pharma cuts its workforce and routinely enters into multibillion-dollar M&A deals, another trend is steadily taking hold at many of them. This is the introduction of AI on a corporate scale.
Mark Merk is a participant in this movement. The company on Wednesday unveiled a partnership with Google Cloud as it works to “Agent AI Enterprise Transformation.”
As part of an investment in Google Cloud worth up to $1 billion, Merck will have access to the tech giant’s agent AI platform across its research and development operations, manufacturing, sales teams, and enterprise divisions.
Notably, the deal includes Google Cloud engineers working directly with Merck’s team to implement the technology, according to an April 22 press release. Dave Williams, Merck’s chief information and digital officer, said in a statement that the AI push “is undergoing one of the most important ramp-up periods in our company’s history.”
The project includes deploying Google’s Gemini Enterprise technology “across end-to-end research and development workflows,” leveraging predictive analytics and automation in manufacturing to improve productivity in enterprise functions and more, according to the release. It aims to “deliver the value that will drive business through the next era of biopharmaceutical growth.”
For Merck, AI integration is at a transformational stage. The company last year revealed plans to lay off thousands of employees to save $3 billion a year by the end of 2027. And in February, it announced a new corporate structure that would focus on oncology in a separate business unit and separate its other pharmaceutical businesses into a separate group.
The company has also been busy on the transactional front, spending billions each to acquire Verona and Sidara in 2025, followed by a $6.7 billion deal to buy Terns last month.
Elsewhere, AI adoption by Big Pharma is gaining momentum. Just before Merck, Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk revealed a company-wide AI deal with OpenAI. Novo is also undergoing a major reorganization with job cuts under CEO Mike Dusder.
