New York, Feb 27, 2026, 19:17 EST — After-hours
- Merck shares climbed Friday after the company pointed to a survival benefit for Keytruda in ovarian cancer.
- The drugmaker cut jobs at a U.S. Gardasil facility, with vaccine demand in China still sluggish.
- Investors are looking ahead to management’s updates at the health-care conference set for March 3.
Merck & Co finished Friday up roughly 3.8%, settling at $123.82. After the bell, shares barely budged. The uptick followed reports linking the gain to new clinical data on its flagship cancer treatment, Keytruda.
The timing is messy for investors focused on the Keytruda narrative. The blockbuster drug pulls in over $30 billion annually, making up close to half of Merck’s total sales. But with patents starting to run out in 2028, Merck has been under pressure to bulk up its cancer drug pipeline and hunt for fresh revenue streams.
Merck is facing what amounts to a vaccine hangover. The drugmaker plans to cut around 150 jobs at its North Carolina plant where it produces the HPV vaccine Gardasil, following a pause in shipments to China last year that stemmed from sluggish demand. Global sales of the shot tumbled 39% in 2025, according to a filing.
Merck reported its Keytruda treatment, a PD-1 inhibitor, reduced the risk of death by 18% in a late-stage trial for patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer. Median overall survival came in at 17.7 months with Keytruda, compared to 14.0 months for those on standard chemo. “Patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer … may experience poor overall survival,” said Dr. Nicoletta Colombo, who heads the Gynecologic Oncology Program at Milan’s European Institute of Oncology. Merck
The findings land on the agenda at the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology’s 2026 congress, scheduled for Feb. 26-28 in Copenhagen—a setting where both drugmakers and clinicians typically map out the pace at which new evidence might alter standard care.
While the S&P 500 shed 0.43%, Merck shares moved against the grain and topped gains among large pharmaceutical stocks such as Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, market data show.
Traders know the drill. Strong oncology results may lengthen Keytruda’s runway and shore up pricing muscle in a packed immunotherapy field, yet vaccine trends show how demand can vanish quicker than supply chains can catch up.
The risk side is clear enough. Gardasil’s bounce hinges on a China recovery, with U.S. policy steering HPV shots toward a single dose—something that could weigh on overall volumes down the line. Oncology victories aren’t automatic, either; they still need to show up in actual use, get reimbursement lined up, and avoid safety surprises.
Tuesday marks the next spot on the calendar. Merck’s CFO Caroline Litchfield and Merck Research Laboratories President Dr. Dean Y. Li are slated for the TD Cowen Health Care Conference on March 3. Investors will be eyeing any updates on vaccine demand, the company’s pipeline focus, and spending plans.
