Moderna stock rises as Merck uses option to jointly develop personalized cancer vaccine
Maddie Meyer

Merck (NYSE:MRK) exercised its option to jointly develop and commercialize Moderna's (NASDAQ:MRNA) personalized cancer vaccine (PCV) mRNA-4157/V940.
Moderna said mRNA-4157/V940 is currently being evaluated in combination with Kenilworth, N.J.-based Merck's blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, as adjuvant treatment for patients with high-risk melanoma in a phase 2 trial called KEYNOTE-942.
The companies expect to report data from the study â being conducted by the Cambridge, Mass.-based mRNA COVID vaccine maker â in Q4 2022.
Under the agreement, originally signed in 2016 and amended in 2018, Merck will pay Moderna $250M to exercise its option for PCVs including mRNA-4157/V940 and will collaborate on development and commercialization.
The payment will be expensed by Merck in Q3 2022 and included in its non-GAAP results, Moderna said in an Oct. 12 press release.
The two companies will share costs and any profits equally under the global collaboration.
Moderna noted that mRNA-4157/V940 is aimed to stimulate an immune response by generating T cell responses based on the mutational signature of a patient's tumor.
MRNA +7.21% to $129.42 premarket Oct. 12
MRK +0.44% to $91.45 premarket Oct. 12