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Moderna shares surge on late-stage skin cancer data with Merck
The stock was trading around a two-year high near $140.2, and Reuters said the move added roughly $30 billion in market value as biotech peers rose.
Moderna shares more than doubled on Wednesday after late-stage data for its personalized mRNA skin cancer therapy, intismeran, developed with Merck sparked investor optimism about the company’s efforts to expand beyond its COVID-19 franchise.
According to Reuters, the therapy is designed to reduce the risk of recurrence and spread of skin cancer when combined with Merck’s immunotherapy drug Keytruda, in a late-stage trial. Analysts cited the cancer program as an important catalyst for Moderna’s ability to prove its mRNA technology can generate revenue beyond infectious diseases.
Reuters also reported that the Nasdaq biotech index rose 4.4% to a record high, helped by Moderna’s move. U.S.-listed peers BioNTech gained 20% and Novavax rose 6%, while Merck climbed 10% to an all-time high.
The article said Moderna shares were at a two-year high of $140.19 and were on track to add about $30 billion to market capitalization, with trading volume more than 15 times the 50-day average. Reuters added that Leerink Partners analysts expect about $1.4 billion in sales potential by 2032, and that short sellers faced record one-day losses as short interest stood at 13.5% of the free float, per ORTEX.
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