07:30 AM EST, 02/18/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Merck & Co. ( MRK ) said Wednesday it has signed a research and development agreement with Mayo Clinic to apply artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to support drug discovery.

The collaboration will combine Mayo Clinic's clinical and genomic datasets with Merck's ( MRK ) research programs, the companies said.

The Mayo Clinic Platform_Orchestrate program with provide Merck ( MRK ) with lab results, medical imaging, clinical notes and molecular data to support validation of AI models and help translate research insights into discovery and development strategies, they said.

The initial focus will be on inflammatory bowel disease, atopic dermatitis and multiple sclerosis, Merck ( MRK ) and Mayo Clinic said.

Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed