Moderna's stock surged more than 14% on Friday following reports of a major new cancer research initiative by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH plans to launch a cancer vaccine development program in December, aiming to replicate the success of Covid-19 vaccine efforts during the pandemic. The initiative will involve a public-private partnership, bringing together researchers and resources from healthcare companies and nonprofits to accelerate scientific discoveries. Initial research will focus on pancreatic, liver, and colorectal cancer, as well as pediatric tumors.
Moderna is a leader in cancer vaccine research, and the initiative comes at a time when advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and mRNA technology are enabling doctors to design personalized treatments. On August 19, Moderna and Merck announced promising results from a clinical trial of their co-developed mRNA-based therapy, intismeran. When combined with Merck's Keytruda, the therapy increased the time before cancer returned or spread in patients with high-risk melanoma.
These encouraging clinical trial results are prompting healthcare leaders to allocate more resources to cancer research, which could accelerate Moderna's development timelines. Faster progress in research could help the biotech deliver new therapies to patients, and profits to shareholders, sooner than expected. However, before investing in Moderna, it is worth noting that the Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team did not include it in their list of the 10 best stocks to buy now, despite the company's potential.