Merck shares rise; data released with Moderna on vaccine/ therapy combo study
03/06/2024 17:53
** Shares in Merck & Co MRK.N up ~2% on Monday making it the
second biggest percentage gainer in the Dow Industrials index
** MRK and partner Moderna MRNA.O said cancer vaccine in
combination with MRK's blockbuster cancer therapy Keytruda
improved survival, showed durable efficacy in a mid-stage study
in patients with a deadly form of skin cancer
** Moderna was up 1.3%, with investors also eyeing news that
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff reviewers say
COVID-19 vaccine makers should consider targeting one of
currently dominant JN.1 variants, JN.1-derived sub-variants for
2024-25 vaccine campaign
** MRK shares last traded at $128.02 after data from a
157-patient trial showed that after two and a half years,
melanoma patients that received cancer vaccine combination
showed 96% overall survival rate vs 90.2% with Keytruda alone
and about 75% had recurrence-free survival vs 55.6% on Keytruda
alone
** MRK shares up 17.4% YTD after falling 1.7% in 2023
(Reporting By Sinéad Carew)
((sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com; +13322191897;))