New York, January 17, 2026, 15:06 (EST) — Market closed
Merck & Co (MRK.N) shares dropped 1.9% on Friday, ending the day at $108.83. That’s roughly 4% shy of their 52-week peak of $112.90 hit earlier this month.
Investors start the week focused on a new FDA fast-track program targeting quick decisions—just one to two months—on a select group of drugs. Internal documents obtained by Reuters reveal the FDA has already postponed reviews for some medicines chosen for the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher Program, which promises to shave four to six months off the usual “priority review” timeline. The agency plans to apply this to 18 drugs, including two from Merck. Holly Fernandez Lynch, a health policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania, described the delays as “a very good sign,” noting they indicate regulators are willing to hit pause if there’s uncertainty about a product’s safety or market readiness. Reuters
Executives and advisers told Reuters some companies hesitate, worried a two-month review might look thin and face legal challenges down the line, especially over which risks appear on drug labels. Eli Lilly research chief Dan Skovronsky said, “We welcome anything that gets medicines to patients faster,” emphasizing the program prioritizes key drugs rather than cutting corners. McKinsey senior partner Greg Graves noted that if the pathway delivers “relatively faster” reviews without sacrificing safety, “it’ll be hard to unmake history.” Merck did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters
Merck’s decline came amid a sluggish day for the sector. The S&P 500 slipped 0.06% on Friday, with healthcare leading losses among its sectors, down 0.8%, according to Reuters. Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, noted, “One of the other reasons markets have been flat-lining is we’re at the start of the earnings season,” as investors await reports beyond the major banks. U.S. stocks will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, resuming trading on Tuesday. Reuters
Merck faces uncertainty not just from policy noise but also from how fast it can expand beyond Keytruda, its top cancer drug. Keytruda sales climbed 10% to $8.1 billion in the third quarter. CFO Caroline Litchfield told Reuters the company expects growth to continue, but at a “slightly slower pace” as some indications near peak penetration. Reuters
Pipeline timing is where the market starts to get choosy. A quicker review process doesn’t always mean a faster approval, and any hold-up can throw off the calculations for new product launches.
This is crucial as Merck races to expand its portfolio ahead of biosimilars challenging Keytruda — near-identical copies of complex biologic drugs that threaten to slash prices.
Merck is gearing up for its next big event: the quarterly earnings report. The pharma giant will unveil its fourth-quarter 2025 results on Feb. 3 at 9 a.m. ET, per the company’s investor calendar.
MRK investors are closely eyeing which medicines will face voucher reviews in 2026 and whether the process holds up. Tuesday’s reopen offers an early indicator, but the real focus is the Feb. 3 call on the calendar.
