$MRNA.US
It breaks through 💥 red diagonal resistance with a breakaway gap!
Moderna and Merck shares rise after successful final-stage trial for mRNA cancer therapy
19 Aug 2026
Merck (MRK) and Moderna (MRNA) surged in pre-market trading on Wednesday after both companies said that the messenger RNA–based cancer therapy they developed together, intismeran autogene, succeeded in a late-stage trial in patients with melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
Phase 3 INTerpath-001 was designed to evaluate intismeran when combined with Merck’s blockbuster anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (MRK) in more than 1,100 patients with stage IIB-IV melanoma whose cancers have been fully resected.
According to its initial data, INTerpath-001 met its primary endpoint—recurrence-free survival—as well as its secondary endpoint—distant metastasis-free survival—making it the first late-stage trial to outperform Keytruda in an adjuvant setting for resected melanoma.
Moderna’s (MRNA) shares gained more than 50%, while Merck’s (MRK) rose more than 6% in pre-market trading after the announcement.
Citing the interim analysis, both companies said that the combined intismeran plus Keytruda regimen delivered statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in RFS and DMFS compared with Keytruda alone.
Also known as V940 or mRNA-4157, the intismeran is an individualized neoantigen therapy that can train and activate a patient’s immune system to fight cancer based on the unique mutation profile of their tumors.
According to Merck (MRK) and Moderna (MRNA), the combination regimen showed a safety profile consistent with prior studies, with no new safety signals, and both companies plan to present detailed data from the study at upcoming medical meetings.
They also plan to file regulatory documents for intismeran plus Keytruda based on INTerpath-001 data.
It breaks through 💥 red diagonal resistance with a breakaway gap!
Moderna and Merck shares rise after successful final-stage trial for mRNA cancer therapy
19 Aug 2026
Merck (MRK) and Moderna (MRNA) surged in pre-market trading on Wednesday after both companies said that the messenger RNA–based cancer therapy they developed together, intismeran autogene, succeeded in a late-stage trial in patients with melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
Phase 3 INTerpath-001 was designed to evaluate intismeran when combined with Merck’s blockbuster anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (MRK) in more than 1,100 patients with stage IIB-IV melanoma whose cancers have been fully resected.
According to its initial data, INTerpath-001 met its primary endpoint—recurrence-free survival—as well as its secondary endpoint—distant metastasis-free survival—making it the first late-stage trial to outperform Keytruda in an adjuvant setting for resected melanoma.
Moderna’s (MRNA) shares gained more than 50%, while Merck’s (MRK) rose more than 6% in pre-market trading after the announcement.
Citing the interim analysis, both companies said that the combined intismeran plus Keytruda regimen delivered statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in RFS and DMFS compared with Keytruda alone.
Also known as V940 or mRNA-4157, the intismeran is an individualized neoantigen therapy that can train and activate a patient’s immune system to fight cancer based on the unique mutation profile of their tumors.
According to Merck (MRK) and Moderna (MRNA), the combination regimen showed a safety profile consistent with prior studies, with no new safety signals, and both companies plan to present detailed data from the study at upcoming medical meetings.
They also plan to file regulatory documents for intismeran plus Keytruda based on INTerpath-001 data.