Moderna surges 150% on Merck cancer vaccine Phase 3 win
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- Moderna and Merck announced their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, combined with Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda, met the main goal of a Phase 3 trial in more than 1,100 higher-risk or advanced melanoma patients whose detectable cancer had been surgically removed.
- Moderna's stock soared nearly 150% in morning trading while Merck shares climbed more than 10%, moves the article attributes to their stark market-cap gap entering Wednesday — roughly $25 billion for Moderna versus $333 billion for Merck.
- The combination regimen significantly extended the time patients lived without their melanoma returning and reduced the risk of the cancer spreading to distant parts of the body, compared with Keytruda alone, building on positive Phase 2 data from earlier this year.
- Dr. Dean Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories, told CNBC the companies will likely begin regulatory conversations "in the next few months," though no U.S. filing timeline has been disclosed and full data will be presented at an upcoming international medical meeting.
- Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel called the result "a big moment for medicine, a big moment for patients," framing the vaccine as a personalized approach that trains the immune system against each tumor's unique mutations rather than a one-size-fits-all regimen.
- The drugmakers are already testing the vaccine in trials against non-small cell lung cancer, bladder cancer, and renal cell carcinoma, with a Leerink Partners analyst having called the melanoma readout a "make-or-break event" for Moderna's stock.
Why it matters: Moderna's 150% surge, after Leerink Partners called it a "make-or-break event," shows how much of its $25 billion valuation hinged on this single melanoma readout. For Merck, a Keytruda-based combination defends its standard-of-care immunotherapy while opening trials in lung, bladder, and renal cancers.
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