Cancer-Vaccine Study Data Leaks Early, Moderna Plunges 25%
MRNA has more than doubled off its 52-week low of $22.28.
Summary
Details from the closely guarded intismeran melanoma study leaked on social media Thursday, two days before the scheduled Saturday release at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference. Moderna shares fell around 25%, putting the stock on pace for its largest one-day drop since its IPO. The August topline — that the vaccine with Merck's Keytruda prevented melanoma from returning or spreading — had sent the stock up 177% in a single session, so the market is now repricing the durability and magnitude of that benefit before the full data is public. The leaked study data show the Merck/Moderna cancer vaccine cuts risk of death or recurrence from melanoma by over 40%. Merck, the codevelopment partner, was down only 1.5%, meaning the damage is concentrated in Moderna, where the cancer program carries far more of the equity story. Moderna and OncologyCentral declined to comment; the actual conference presentation Saturday is the next hard data point and will determine whether this selloff holds.
At the time of this announcement, MRNA was trading at $185.19 on NASDAQ in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $73.9B. The 52-week trading range was $22.28 to $254.48. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 9 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.