Moderna Inc
Moderna Hits a New 52-Week High as Nasdaq-100 Inclusion Takes Effect
Moderna's shares are changing hands between $219.37 and $219.56 Friday, topping the previous 52-week high of $212.22. The stock's 52-week range begins at $22.28.
Nasdaq announced that Moderna enters the Nasdaq-100 Index before the market opens Friday, taking the place of Warner Bros. Discovery. That index covers 100 of the biggest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
NIH Cancer Vaccine Push Returns mRNA to the Spotlight
A New York Times report described a push by Dr. Anthony Letai, director of the National Cancer Institute, for a national campaign to accelerate cancer vaccine breakthroughs. The plan calls for a public-private partnership uniting the NIH, the Foundation for the NIH, researchers, drugmakers and biotech firms, advocacy groups, philanthropies and patients. "We can place big bets on new ideas," Letai said.
Each vaccine is tailored to one patient. It trains the immune system's T cells to find abnormal proteins that appear on that patient's tumor and nowhere else. Covid-19, measles and flu shots stop disease before it starts, while cancer vaccines go after a cancer that already exists. Most of them use mRNA technology, which lost favor with the Trump administration.
Stacey Adam, a senior clinical officer at the Foundation for the NIH, said the program should launch in December. It will target pancreatic, liver and colorectal cancers first, along with a subset of pediatric tumors. Adam hopes the effort mirrors the public-private push behind Covid vaccines, though the Times reported the pace will be much slower.
How the NIH Push Could Help Moderna, Starting With its Melanoma Study
The initiative could help Moderna in several ways. It places mRNA cancer vaccines, a major Moderna focus, at the center of a national research effort, and the report notes the technology had lost favor with the Trump administration. The partnership also includes pharmaceutical and biotech companies. A national network of trial sites could speed testing for programs like Moderna's Phase 3 intismeran autogene.
Moderna's own melanoma study with Merck is the only one so far to produce definitive results. The companies ran it in 1,137 people with advanced melanoma. In August, they reported that the vaccine delayed both recurrence and spread of the cancer. Full data are due later this month.
MRNA Shares Are Soaring
MRNA Price Action: Moderna shares were up 12.12% at $220.96 at the time of publication on Friday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high, according to Benzinga Pro.
