Moderna shares fell 4% to $193.62 in morning trading, extending an 18% plunge from the prior session, even though full late-stage data for its personalized melanoma vaccine, given with Merck's Keytruda, came back positive. Compared with Keytruda alone, the combination cut the risk of melanoma recurrence or death, a result near analyst expectations but short of the highest hopes built during a rally that began in August. The vaccine carries far more weight for Moderna, whose approved products are all respiratory vaccines, while for Merck it is an add-on to Keytruda; Merck fell 0.8% to $146 and Pfizer 0.7% to $30.22. The iShares Biotechnology ETF was unchanged at $209.54, suggesting the slide is company-specific. The full data will be presented at a medical conference this weekend.
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