Merck CEO tells CNBC he expects breakthrough cancer vaccine will become faster to make

Key points

• Merck CEO Rob Davis told CNBC he expects the cancer vaccine with Moderna to be made faster over time.
• The personalized vaccine's six-week manufacturing timeline runs from tumor sequencing to hospital delivery.
• Merck opened a 120,000-square-foot research facility named Advance in West Point, Pennsylvania.

Merck CEO Rob Davis told CNBC on Wednesday that he expects the company's breakthrough cancer vaccine with Moderna to become faster to manufacture over time. He said shortening the current six-week timeline could potentially help the companies reach more patients.

The personalized vaccine is designed to target the specific mutations in each patient's tumor rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach, which makes production complicated. The goal is to train the immune system to recognize and kill unique cancer markers and pair that response with Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda.

What Davis said

Davis said the manufacturing process is a "complex system" but that Merck and Moderna have it "down to a very tight science." He added that he is confident the companies will get the vaccine to patients in a timely fashion.

His comments followed positive initial data in August from a late-stage trial of the vaccine with Keytruda in melanoma patients. Davis said the company is also studying the vaccine in non-small cell lung cancer, types of bladder cancer and renal cell carcinoma.

We are going to drive for improvement, but right now the focus really is, let's make sure we have the supply ready, we have the market ready to bring this important innovation to the market, and then we'll talk about how do we accelerate

— Rob Davis

New facility and Keytruda

Davis spoke after Merck officially opened its new 120,000-square-foot research facility, named Advance, at its West Point, Pennsylvania, campus. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined Merck executives and other officials for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Merck says the facility is designed to streamline analysis of biological samples and improve research and development.

The opening comes as Merck prepares for the loss of exclusivity of Keytruda. The core U.S. compound patent expires in December 2028, while secondary patents extend protection into 2029 and beyond. Merck is developing new forms of Keytruda and combination regimens, and the FDA approved a subcutaneous form in September 2025.

A Dutch court earlier this month issued an injunction blocking Merck from selling, stocking or manufacturing subcutaneous Keytruda in eight European countries after a patent suit by Halozyme Therapeutics. Merck says it strongly disagrees and plans to appeal. Halozyme has also sued Merck in the U.S.