Moderna shares soar as skin cancer jab results published

The world’s first personalised mRNA cancer jab for melanoma, developed by Moderna and MSD, has been found to reduce the risk of death and late-stage melanoma skin cancer from returning. As experts hail the new jab a “pivotal moment for the field of cancer research”, AJ Bell’s head of financial analysis, Danni Hewson, believes the breakthrough has boosted Moderna’s prospects.

She said: “Vaccine-maker Moderna has been given a shot of adrenaline after successful trial results for an experimental skin cancer vaccine. Developed in partnership with Merck, news of the vaccine’s breakthrough has driven a dramatic reappraisal of Moderna’s prospects.

“A more than doubling in the share price should be seen in the context of a desultory performance in recent years, as the company struggled to build on its pandemic-era success. Moderna hasn’t been helped by a more difficult political backdrop in the US and reduced demand for its Covid shots, with the company’s shares languishing way below the highs seen in 2021.

“Moderna is a leader in ‘messenger RNA’ technology which teaches the body’s immune system to identify illnesses. Expanding into cancer treatment has long been an aspiration for the business but the market had taken relatively little notice of the potential in this area until now.

“Today’s announcement has shifted sentiment in a big way and, while drug development is always fraught with uncertainty, there is real excitement about Moderna’s prospects for the first time in several years.”