Moderna Stock Pops as Cancer Vaccine Trial Yields Promising Results

Moderna's stock has been surging in recent weeks, and the trend continues on Thursday. The NASDAQ-listed biotech company's shares are up 8.18% at $157.53 at the time of publication.

The rally began with a breakthrough in August when Moderna and Merck & Co. announced Phase 3 results from their INTerpath-001 study. This study showed that pairing Moderna's individualized cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, with Merck's Keytruda produced significantly better outcomes than Keytruda alone in high-risk melanoma patients.

This was a landmark moment for the company, as it marked the first-ever Phase 3 success for a personalized neoantigen vaccine and for any mRNA-based cancer treatment. The therapy is built individually for each patient based on their tumor's specific mutations, and no new safety concerns emerged.