Merck and Moderna Shares Soar on Positive Melanoma Vaccine Trial Results
Pharmaceutical giants Merck and Moderna have seen their shares surge after announcing positive trial results for a melanoma vaccine they are jointly developing. The companies said that the mRNA-based individualised neoantigen therapy, known as intismeran, met its primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival and a key secondary endpoint in patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma.
The Phase 3 trial combined intismeran with Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and showed that the treatment improved distant metastasis-free survival. Dr. Dean Y. Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories, hailed the results as a breakthrough in cancer treatment.
Merck shares were up 6.6% at $144.03, while Moderna shares rose by a whopping 95% to $122.56 in pre-market trade on Wednesday.