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Moderna and Merck trial lifts healthcare stocks to strongest week since June
The sector rally was tied to Moderna and Merck announcing a late stage melanoma result on August 19, with a Phase 3 study of more than 1,100 patients.
The US healthcare sector posted its strongest week since late June, with the Health Care index up more than 4% over the five trading days through August 21, after gaining 7.9% in the prior period ending in late June, according to Yahoo Finance.
The move traced to clinical trial news from Moderna and Merck. The companies said their tailored mRNA cancer treatment, intismeran autogene, combined with Merck's Keytruda, met both primary goals in a Phase 3 trial, improving recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival versus Keytruda alone in a study of over 1,100 patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma.
Yahoo Finance reports the companies said the trial showed no new safety signals, and that the results extend earlier Phase 2b data indicating the combination reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 49% and the risk of distant metastasis or death by 59% compared with Keytruda alone.
The market reaction was pronounced for biotech shares, with Moderna stock rising about 177% on the day of the announcement, adding roughly $45 billion to its market capitalization, the outlet said.