Ten Different Entities Touch Your Prescription Before You Get It | Bill Taranto, Merck GHIF

The head of Merck's Global Health Innovation Fund on where healthcare capital is actually going. Book Ian for your event → iankhan.com | booking@iankhan.com SUMMARY Bill Taranto runs Merck's Global Health Innovation Fund, started in 2010. He describes the friction between a prescription being written and a patient receiving it, the direct-to-patient shift visible in GLP-1 distribution, and why his fund holds roughly 15 AI and ML companies because each approaches the problem differently. KEY FINDINGS • Ten different entities touching a prescription before a patient receives it • Direct-to-patient distribution changing the model • Starting the venture fund for MSD in 2010, when monitoring was still new • Roughly 15 AI and machine learning companies in the portfolio • Each doing it differently, which is why the fund holds so many • AI in drug discovery now four to five years old • Several AI-discovered drugs moving through to phase 3 NOTABLE QUOTES "Just trying to get your prescription, 10 different entities touch it before you might even get it." — Bill Taranto GUEST Bill Taranto, President, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund FULL TRANSCRIPT iankhan.com/futurist/bill-taranto-merck-ghif-healthcare-capital Recorded at HLTH Europe 2026, Amsterdam for The Futurist. ──────────────────── ABOUT IAN KHAN — HEALTHCARE AI KEYNOTE SPEAKER Most AI keynotes end with a better understanding. Mine end with a measured readiness score and a ninety-day plan. Your leadership team is assessed befo