- Moderna shares surged over 90% in US pre-market trade after positive melanoma vaccine trial results
- The stock peaked at $130.52, marking a 110% increase from the previous day's trade
- The trial involved over 1,100 melanoma patients treated with Moderna's vaccine and Merck's Keytruda
The share price of Moderna soared past 100% after the Wall Street opened on Wednesday, as investors cheered the company's successful results of a trial with regards to its Melanoma (skin cancer) vaccine that it is developing with Merck.
The firm's shares were up 104.3% at $128.63 on Nasdaq, minutes after the opening bell. The stock touched a pre-market peak of $130.52, which marked a surge of 110% from the previous day's close.
The pharmaceutical company's share price has hit its highest level since 2024.
The company stated that this was the first positive outcome observed in a large-stage trial for an mRNA cancer vaccine. Moderna's vaccine injection coupled with Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda achieved the intended objective in Phase-3 of the trial with over 1,100 patients with higher-risk or advanced melanoma having their detected cancer entirely removed via surgery.
Professor Georgina Long, who was the study's primary investigator and medical director of Melanoma Institute Australia, called the results a " landmark moment" for the treatment of melanoma via adjuvant means.
Despite Moderna's rise, Merck, whom it had partnered with did not see a similar jump in its shares with it being a quarter of the levels it had hit during the company's peak performance in 2021 post news of the development of the Covid vaccine.
The firm has faced less success after waning demand for the vaccine as the pandemic caused by the Coronavirus winded down. Its share price had risen 6% in early pre-market trade.
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