Investing In Digital Health Solutions To Improve Human Life
Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (MGHIF) is a growth investor partnering with innovative digital health and data science companies that facilitate and optimize biopharmaceutical operations with the goal of improving patient care.
Leadership In Digital Health Investing
$600M
Evergreen Fund
2010
Year Founded
70+
Investments
Partnering With Innovators From Early to Growth Stage
Accelerators
GHI invests up to $2M in early-stage companies through our three Accelerators: Merck Digital Science Studio , Merck IDEA Studios Singapore, Merck IDEA Studios Berlin
Early stage / Agnostic
Up to 20% ownership
Venture Capital
GHI typically invests up to $10M equity in areas aligned with business needs
Series B or Series C
Up to 20% ownership
Growth Capital
GHI invests more than $10M equity when business is signing multiyear multimillion services contract
Growth Capital
Up to 30% ownership
Our Investment Focus Areas
Drug Discovery & Clinical Development
Opportunities to enhance drug discovery and accelerate clinical development.
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Drug Discovery & Clinical Development
Opportunities to accelerate and improve the discovery of novel medicines, as well as to accelerate clinical development.
Digital data networks & analytics for target identification
NCE/NME drug discovery platform
Novel delivery platforms
Synthetic biology
Molecular diagnostics
Digital pathology & radiology
Digital biomarkers & remote monitoring
Blood-based diagnostics & sampling
eClinical, patient recruitment & data management platforms
Manufacturing, Supply Chain, & IT
Enhancing efficiency and reliability of supply chain, manufacturing, IT and enterprise operations.
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Manufacturing, Supply Chain, & IT
Enhancing speed, nimbleness, and reliability of the supply chain, manufacturing, IT and enterprise operations.
Digital supply chain
Plant-to-patient
Connected floors & labs
Data and application integration
Enterprise privacy and security
Enterprise architecture
Quantum computing
Blockchain
Access to Medicine & Patient Support
Improving access to the right treatment for the right patient, and getting patients to outcome.
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Access to Medicine & Patient Support
Improving access to treatment, ensuring delivery of the right treatment to the right patient at the right time, and getting patients to outcome.
Social determinants of health
Patient centric care
Commerical data analytics & market support
Clinical decision support and evidence-based medicine
Provider communications
Remote monitoring
Patient support & care management
Real World Evidence Generation
Enabling transparency in outcomes through generation of real world evidence and insights.
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Real World Evidence Generation
Enabling transparency in outcomes through generation of real world evidence and insights.
Data & analytics to power real world evidence
Scaled data networks
Multimodal longitudinal data
Identifying care gaps
Population health screening
Access to clinical trials
Partnering With Innovative Health Care Companies
The GHIF Distinction
Digital Health Acumen
Venture Mentality
Corporate Platform
Digital Health Acumen
Recognized leader in corporate venture capital and digital health investing
Team with extensive expertise in healthcare, data and analytics, life sciences
Focused investment model that is theraputic-and-brand-agnostic
The GHIF Distinction
Digital Health Acumen
Recognized leader in corporate venture capital and digital health investing
Team with extensive expertise in healthcare, data and analytics, life sciences
Focused investment model that is theraputic-and-brand-agnostic
Venture Mentality
Accessesible investors with a nimble approach
Valuable source of guidance with decades of strategic and venture investing experience
Vast network of digital health investors and talent
Corporate Platform
Collaborative relationships through GHI’s Strategic Innovation Alliances function
Connections to Merck’s global operations and talent in more than 140 countries
Access to expertise in clinical development, commercialization, supply chain, marketing and regulatory compliance
Bringing Venture Mentality With The Benefits Of A Strategic Investor
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Bill Taranto
President & General Partner
Bill Taranto
President & General Partner
Bill Taranto is President of the GHI Fund and founding partner since inception in 2010. Bill has more than 30 years of health care experience including over 20 years of healthcare investing. In addition to his experience in venture investing, Bill has more than a decade of management operations experience. Today Bill the chairman of the Merck Innovative Ventures Board, a group that manages the identification and funding of portfolio businesses; and is also Chairman of the GHI Fund LLC Management Board. Prior to joining Merck, Bill spent 18 years at Johnson & Johnson in various venture capital, marketing, sales and business development roles. Before J&J, Bill spent eight years in investment banking. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration from St. Bonaventure University.
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Joel Krikston
Managing Director
Joel Krikston
Managing Director
Joel Krikston is Managing Director Venture Investments and Head of Strategic Innovation Alliances. Joel is focused on identifying new investment opportunities with a focus on Oncology, Vaccines and Infectious Disease. Mr. Krikston has over 20 years of experience in healthcare innovation. Prior to joining Merck GHI in 2013, he was an Investment Principal at Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation. Joel also spent over eight years as an investment banker, covering an array of healthcare clients and included experience at BNP Paribas, JPMorgan and ABN Amro. Joel has an MBA from the Stern School of Business at NYU and completed his Bachelor’s degree in Finance and International Business at Fairfield University.
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Hanqing Li
Investment Director
Hanqing Li
Investment Director
Hanqing is an Investment Director for Merck GHI Fund and is responsible for supporting all areas of digital health. Prior to joining Merck, Hanqing was a technical specialist at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, where her responsibilities included conducting due diligence and freedom to operate analyses in the life sciences industry; drafting patent applications; patent portfolio management; and patent prosecution in jurisdictions around the world. Hanqing also worked in R&D for Quantgene, a start-up focused on the detection of early-stage cancers using liquid biopsies. Hanqing holds a Ph.D. in Biology from the California Institute of Technology, where her research focused on the development of assays for detecting protein-protein interactions, as well as their utilization in the study of the neuromuscular junction in D. melanogaster models.
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Mike Morgan
Principal
Mike Morgan
Principal
Mike is a Principal for Merck GHI Fund and is responsible for supporting all areas of digital health. Prior to joining Merck in 2021, Mike was a Senior Manager in the Life Sciences Strategy Practice at Accenture. His experience includes venture capital, M&A due-diligence, business case development, real-world evidence, and growth strategy. Mike holds an MBA from Yale School of Management and a BA from Haverford College.
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Susie Oblak
Executive Director, Strategic Innovation Alliances
Susie Oblak
Executive Director, Strategic Innovation Alliances
Susie Oblak is an Executive Director with Merck GHI Fund leading Strategic Innovation Alliances. Susie has 20+ years of experience in healthcare strategy, growth, and innovation. Prior to joining Merck GHI in 2024, she was SVP, Technology Partnerships for Komodo Health. Susie has also served as a consultant with MSD’s Global Partnerships & Innovation team, UK General Manager for Big Health, and in senior commercial roles for the Advisory Board in London, UK and Washington, DC. Susie has an MBA from INSEAD in France/ Singapore and completed her BS at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce.
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David Rubin
Managing Director
David Rubin
Managing Director
David M. Rubin, Ph.D., is a Managing Director and a founding partner of GHI Fund since inception in 2010. David is focused on digital health and precision medicine mainly focused in oncology. David has spent more than 30 years in the healthcare industry. Before joining the GHI team, Dr. Rubin led a portfolio management group in Merck Research Labs, where he facilitated the development of franchise strategies and analysis of portfolio valuations. David joined Merck from Cognia Corporation, a venture-backed international healthcare R&D software company, where he was CEO. Previously, Dr. Rubin was a management consultant at The Wilkerson Group/IBM Global Services. Dr. Rubin holds a Ph.D. from Temple University in Molecular Biology and a B.A. from SUNY Binghamton in Biology. He was a National Institutes of Health and American Cancer Society Post-Doctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School where he worked on the Ubiquitin Proteasome Pathway. He also received training in post-graduate business at Harvard University.
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Vishal Sahni
Investment Director
Vishal Sahni
Investment Director
Vishal is an Investment Director, responsible for investing in digital health and enabling technologies, with an emphasis on precision medicine and diagnostic solutions. Vishal brings over 16 years of research and deal experience in the healthcare industry. Prior to joining the GHI team, Vishal was a member of Lundbeck’s Corporate Business Development & Strategy team, where he led business development projects across pre-clinical, clinical, and commercial stages. Before his tenure at Lundbeck, he served as a Director at the MRL Discovery Centre, leading a team of scientists dedicated to target identification and early-stage drug discovery initiatives. Vishal began his career with 11 years at Eisai and GSK, during which he led pre-clinical and translational research projects. Vishal holds a Ph.D. in Development Neurobiology from University College London, a Master's degree in Experimental Neuroscience from Imperial College London, and a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science from King’s College London.
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Dave Stevenson
Managing Director
Dave Stevenson
Managing Director
Dave Stevenson is COO & Managing Director and a founding partner of GHI Fund since inception in 2010. Dave is responsible for identifying opportunities broadly across digital health and also manages the GHI portfolio and operations. Dave brings more than 25 years of healthcare strategy and operations expertise to the GHI team. Prior to Merck GHI, Dave was Head of U.S. Strategy at Sanofi responsible for development of the company’s new commercial models. Dave started his career with Novartis where he built their first clinical trial management system. He holds a MBA from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. from Washington University.
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Joe Volpe
Managing Director
Joe Volpe
Managing Director
Joe Volpe is a Managing Director and a founding partner of GHI Fund since inception in 2010. Joe focuses on Health IT, Manufacturing/Supply Chain and healthcare evidence-based data and systems digital platforms. He has more than 30 years of experience in health care investing applying a technical engineering background coupled with an understanding of emerging technologies in health care. Joe came to Merck from Johnson and Johnson where he spent more than 20 years in innovation and investment roles across Consumer, Pharma and Device sectors. Prior to that he was a consultant in Health Care, Military and Robotics Systems with EDS where he was selected and graduated from their Top Gun business finance and technology programs. He went to the University of South Florida where he obtained a B.S. in Business/Information Systems and Engineering.
