Moderna, Merck win priority designation for personalized cancer vaccine in EU
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Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Merck (NYSE:MRK) inched higher pre-market Monday after announcing that the duo received Priority Medicines (PRIME) scheme designation in Europe for a treatment combo comprising mRNA-4157/V940, an mRNA-based personalized cancer vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) grants PRIME designation to accelerate the development and evaluation of medicines targeted at unmet medical needs.

The EMA has issued PRIME designation for a combination therapy consisting of mRNA-4157/V940 and Merckâs (MRK) blockbuster cancer Keytruda for adjuvant treatment of certain forms of high-risk melanoma following complete resection.
The decision was based on Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942/mRNA-4157-P201 trial, the data of which were announced in December, sparking hopes of a messenger-RNA-based cancer vaccine.

Read: Seeking Alpha contributor Douglas McKenny argues that despite concerns over the companyâs future profitability, Moderna (MRNA) is positioned to sustain profits given its investments to develop new products.