A nationwide initiative announced by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to accelerate personalized cancer vaccine development has led to a rally in several biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks. The initiative, reported by the New York Times, is a public-private partnership involving the NIH, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, advocacy groups, and patients. The program is expected to launch in December.
Unlike traditional vaccines that prevent infections, these personalized cancer vaccines aim to help the immune system identify and attack existing cancer cells. Many experimental treatments utilize messenger RNA (mRNA) technology to target abnormal proteins unique to a patient's tumor. Stacey Adam, a senior clinical officer at the NIH foundation, stated that the initiative aims to replicate the collaboration that accelerated COVID-19 vaccine development.
The initiative is expected to strengthen research efforts in a field where Moderna and BioNTech already have significant clinical programs. In August, Moderna and Merck reported positive Phase 3 results for their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, combined with Keytruda. BioNTech is advancing several clinical-stage cancer therapies, including BNT113 for HPV-positive tumors, BNT116 for lung cancer, and autogene cevumeran (BNT122), developed with Genentech.
Following the news, shares of Moderna, BioNTech, Pfizer, Merck, Novavax, and Vaxcyte all traded higher. According to Benzinga Pro data at the time of publication, Moderna shares were up 12.15% at $220.94, BioNTech shares were up 5.16% at $92.44, Pfizer shares were up 1.31% at $28.18, Merck shares were up 2.65% at $146.15, Novavax shares were up 16.89% at $12.87, and Vaxcyte shares were up 8.41% at $65.05.
