US firms' personalised cancer vaccine meets key goals in trial, their shares rise 90%

US-based Moderna and Merck's shares rose by as much as 90% on Wednesday after their experimental personalised cancer vaccine met key goals in a large late-stage trial. The vaccine improved recurrence-free survival in 1,137 patients with high-risk Stage IIB-IV melanoma whose tumours had been completely removed via surgery. Moderna's shares rose 91% to hit $120.26, while Merck's shares jumped 9%.