Donald Trump · Axios · Axios
Moderna and Merck shares soar on mRNA cancer vaccine
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Moderna and Merck shares soared on Wednesday after the companies said a personalized mRNA treatment hit its target of preventing skin cancer from recurring or spreading in a late-stage clinical trial.
Key facts
- The results could lead to a remarkable turnaround for Moderna, whose market value plummeted more than 90% after demand for its COVID vaccine declined post-pandemic
- We may be entering an era where a patient's individual tumor biology can be used to design a therapy specifically for them," William Soliman, founder and CEO of the Accreditation Council for Medical
- The experimental therapy, called intismeran, was tested in combination with Merck's cancer drug Keytruda in more than 1,100 patients with high-risk melanoma that had been surgically removed
- The full results of the trial will be released at an upcoming medical meeting
Summary
The results come at a pivotal moment for Moderna and mRNA research, after Trump administration health officials cut federal funding for new vaccines and asserted the technology poses more risks than rewards. The customized therapy, which could see a commercial launch next year, could also be adapted for other cancers of the kidney, bladder and pancreas. The results could lead to a remarkable turnaround for Moderna, whose market value plummeted more than 90% after demand for its COVID vaccine declined post-pandemic. "People will experience this as. the COVID company now cancer," Moderna president Stephen Hoge told Axios.