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Moderna and Merck's Cancer Vaccine Meets Key Melanoma Trial Endpoints
Confirmed
In Short: Shares of Moderna and Merck surged after their melanoma vaccine trial met primary endpoints.
Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) surged 93% to $121.76 in early Wednesday trading, following the announcement that their Phase 3 melanoma trial met its primary endpoint alongside Merck (NYSE:MRK).
The Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial tested Intismeran Autogene, Moderna's personalized mRNA vaccine, alongside Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda in patients with high-risk stage IIB-IV melanoma whose tumors had been completely removed by surgery.
Moderna shares closed Tuesday at $62.96, down 2% on the session, but the stock has climbed 114% year to date. Merck stock closed Tuesday at $135.17 and is up 30% year to date.
The trial results showed that the personalized mRNA cancer vaccine reduced the risk of disease recurrence in patients with melanoma by 42% compared to a standard treatment, according to a large clinical trial conducted by Moderna and Merck.
The approach is made possible by the same mRNA technology that led to the rapid development of vaccines against COVID-19. This technology has the potential to redefine how patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma are treated.
Li, President of Merck Research Laboratories, summed up the results succinctly: 'These first Phase 3 findings for Intismeran in combination with Keytruda as adjuvant therapy reinforce the promise of a more personalized approach to cancer treatment.'
No new safety concerns emerged, and the trial will continue to assess overall survival. The success of the Moderna-Merck vaccine may also usher in a new wave of treatments for other types of cancer, though experts are debating how broadly applicable the technology could be.
The results are an important advance for the treatment of melanoma, oncologists said, because patients lived significantly longer without their cancer returning.
If early levels hold, Moderna is on track for its biggest ever single-day gain and could open at more than two-year highs.
The catalyst is the first positive Phase 3 readout for a personalized mRNA cancer therapy, an outcome that validates a platform Moderna has spent years building.
What this adds
The personalized mRNA shot teaches the body to attack a patient’s specific melanoma cells, according to pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck.
What's confirmed
- Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) surged 93% to $121.76 in early Wednesday trading, following the announcement that their Phase 3 melanoma trial met its primary endpoint alongside Merck (NYSE:MRK).
- The Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial tested Intismeran Autogene, Moderna's personalized mRNA vaccine, alongside Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda in patients with high-risk stage IIB-IV melanoma whose tumors had been completely removed by surgery.
- Moderna shares closed Tuesday at $62.96, down 2% on the session, but the stock has climbed 114% year to date. Merck stock closed Tuesday at $135.17 and is up 30% year to date.
- The trial results showed that the personalized mRNA cancer vaccine reduced the risk of disease recurrence in patients with melanoma by 42% compared to a standard treatment, according to a large clinical trial conducted by Moderna and Merck.
- The approach is made possible by the same mRNA technology that led to the rapid development of vaccines against COVID-19. This technology has the potential to redefine how patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma are treated.
- No new safety concerns emerged, and the trial will continue to assess overall survival. The success of the Moderna-Merck vaccine may also usher in a new wave of treatments for other types of cancer, though experts are debating how broadly applicable the technology could be.
- The results are an important advance for the treatment of melanoma, oncologists said, because patients lived significantly longer without their cancer returning.
- If early levels hold, Moderna is on track for its biggest ever single-day gain and could open at more than two-year highs.
- The catalyst is the first positive Phase 3 readout for a personalized mRNA cancer therapy, an outcome that validates a platform Moderna has spent years building.
What's still developing
- A single Phase 3 readout just shook the cancer treatment world, sending one biotech stock to its biggest single-day gain ever and forcing Wall Street to rethink whether personalized mRNA therapies have finally crossed the line from promising to proven.
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