Moderna Stock Surges 90% on Successful Cancer Therapy Trial

Moderna's shares surged nearly 90% in premarket trading after its personalized mRNA cancer therapy, developed in collaboration with Merck & Co., successfully passed a key clinical trial.

The therapy, which uses a combination of Moderna's Intisimera and Merck's Keytruda, reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence and spread compared to treatment with Keytruda alone.

According to an interim trial report released on August 19, the therapy achieved both its primary goal, reducing the risk of cancer recurrence, and its secondary goal, preventing its spread.

This is the first positive result from a late-phase trial of an mRNA cancer vaccine and the first study to demonstrate that adding Intisimera to Keytruda is more effective than using Keytruda alone in patients with surgically removed melanoma.

The results could boost the outlook for both Moderna and Merck. Moderna has been looking for new sources of growth following a decline in demand for its COVID-19 vaccine, while Merck is preparing for the loss of patent protection for its flagship drug Keytruda at the end of this decade.