Moderna shares surge as melanoma vaccine with Merck succeeds in large trial

Moderna's mRNA vaccine combined with Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda succeeded in a late-stage trial for skin cancer, the companies said on Wednesday, sending shares of the vaccine maker up 60% in premarket ​trading.

The study is ongoing, but interim results found the treatment, Intismeran, met ​both its primary target of reducing cancer recurrence and its secondary ⁠goal of keeping cancers from spreading to other parts of the body.