Biotech stocks jump after Moderna, Merck's melanoma vaccine succeeds in large trial

Pfizer

19/08/2026 13:59

** Shares of biotech cos rise premarket after Moderna's MRNA.O melanoma vaccine with Merck MRK.N succeeds in large trial
** U.S.-listed shares of BioNTech BNTX.O climbs ~16%, Novavax NVAX.O rises 7.1%, Virax Biolabs Group VRAX.O zooms 40% to $3.83
** Moderna soars 96%, while Merck climbs 6.9%
** Nasdaq biotech index .NBI is up nearly 22% YTD compared with 12.4% gain in the S&P 500 .SPX

 (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru)
 ((medha.singh@thomsonreuters.com))