Moderna raises $2.6B following major cancer vaccine trial success

Moderna has raised $2.6 billion through an upsized convertible note offering to fund its oncology expansion and repay debt. The capital raise closely follows a historic Phase 3 trial success for Moderna and Merck's personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene. In a study of over 1,000 melanoma patients, the vaccine successfully prevented tumors from returning or spreading when paired with Merck's blockbuster drug Keytruda. Concurrently, the FDA cleared Moderna's updated COVID-19 vaccine, mNEXSPIKE, alongside formulations from Pfizer and Novavax.

Moderna-Merck cancer vaccine trial success

• ▪Wall Street analysts estimate that sales of the Moderna-Merck cancer vaccine could top $1 billion by 2030 and $3 billion by 2035
• ▪In a Phase 3 trial of more than 1,000 patients with localized melanoma, the Moderna-Merck cancer vaccine kept tumors from coming back or spreading
• ▪Moderna's shares rose more than 130% and added $45 billion in market value on the day the melanoma vaccine trial results were disclosed
• ▪An mRNA cancer vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck achieved the first success of a therapeutic cancer vaccine in late-stage testing in over 100 years

mRNA personalized cancer vaccine development

• ▪Moderna and Merck tested the vaccine in early-stage melanoma patients following surgical removal of their tumors to allow time to manufacture the customized vaccine
• ▪Moderna and Merck plan to test whether the personalized mRNA vaccine approach can work in cancers with fewer mutations, including lung, kidney, and pancreatic cancers
• ▪The cancer vaccine, known as intismeran autogene, is a personalized treatment that targets 34 patient-specific mutations unique to each individual's tumors

Moderna $2.6B convertible note offering

• ▪Moderna's shares fell approximately 10% immediately following the announcement of the $2.6 billion convertible note offering
• ▪Moderna intends to use the $2.6 billion proceeds from the note offering to build its cancer drug business and repay outstanding debt
• ▪Moderna raised $2.6 billion on August 27, 2026, by pricing an upsized offering of convertible notes due in 2032

Keytruda checkpoint inhibitor partnership

• ▪Moderna and Merck established a partnership in 2016 to develop the cancer vaccine, with Merck paying $200 million upfront and another $250 million in 2022
• ▪The personalized cancer vaccine is paired with Merck's Keytruda, a checkpoint inhibitor that removes barriers to allow the body's immune system T-cells to attack cancer cells
• ▪Merck faces the patent expiration later this decade of Keytruda, which is used against 20 different tumor types and was recently the world's top-selling drug

FDA COVID-19 vaccine approvals

• ▪The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved updated formulations of three COVID-19 vaccines tailored to the XFG variant on August 27, 2026
• ▪The newly approved COVID-19 vaccines include Pfizer and BioNTech's Comirnaty, Moderna's mNEXSPIKE, and Novavax's protein-based Nuvaxovid
• ▪The FDA granted limited approvals for the updated COVID-19 vaccines, clearing them for individuals over 65 and younger people at high risk of severe illness

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