Key takeaways
- Moderna stock plunged nearly 18%, wiping more than $17 billion from its market value
- Moderna and Merck's experimental cancer vaccine reduced melanoma recurrence or death risk by 42%
- Investors are awaiting further clinical data at the October 24 ESMO presentation
Moderna stock suffered a dramatic selloff on Thursday after plunging by as much as 26%. This happened as clinical trial results for its experimental cancer vaccine emerged earlier than expected.
Shares of the biotechnology company closed at $202.63, down 17.57%. This was their worst session since August. The selloff erased more than $17 billion from Moderna's market capitalization by the closing bell, while its intraday losses temporarily approached $24 billion.
The sharp decline followed a massive rally that pushed Moderna stock more than 500% higher this year, fueled largely by expectations surrounding its cancer treatment pipeline.
Moderna Cancer Vaccine Results Trigger Massive Stock Selloff
The market turmoil began after Phase 3 trial results for Moderna and Merck's personalized cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, appeared prematurely on medical news website Oncology Central.
The data was originally scheduled for presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress on Oct. 24, and showed that combining the experimental vaccine with Merck's Keytruda reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42% compared with Keytruda alone.
The combination also reduced the risk of distant cancer spread or death by 38%.
Among the 1,137 patients participating in the trial, approximately 82.2% receiving the combination remained recurrence-free after two years, compared with 70% receiving Keytruda alone.
Despite these encouraging findings, investors seem disappointed that the treatment did not deliver a more substantial improvement over expectations.
What's Next for Moderna Stock?
The results are an important milestone for Moderna's efforts to expand beyond its COVID-19 vaccine business and establish itself as a major player in cancer treatment. Unlike conventional vaccines, intismeran is personalized using mutations identified in an individual patient's tumor, which helps the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells.
However, there are still some questions about the treatment's effectiveness across other cancer types, its commercial potential, and whether it will ultimately improve overall survival.
Investors will now turn their attention to Saturday's ESMO presentation in Madrid, where the companies are expected to provide more details about the clinical findings.
