Illumina and PacBio shares rose 16% and 18% after Phase III results for a personalized mRNA therapy

Illumina and PacBio shares rose 16% and 18% after Phase III results for a personalized mRNA therapy

On August 23, the trade publication GEN attributed these gains to expectations of increased demand for tumor analysis in the development of personalized cancer treatments. Creating such a therapy begins with sequencing DNA from the patient’s tumor and selecting targets for the treatment.

On August 19, Merck and Moderna reported results from the Phase III INTerpath-001 trial, which included 1 137 patients whose melanoma had been completely removed. Patients in the combination group received the personalized mRNA therapy intismeran in addition to pembrolizumab, a drug that helps the immune system recognize tumors. The combination outperformed pembrolizumab alone on two measures: the time without disease recurrence and the time without distant metastases, meaning tumor sites in other organs.

To produce intismeran, DNA from a tumor sample is read with a sequencer to create a map of its mutations. This map is used to select up to 34 neoantigens, which are protein fragments altered by mutations that the immune system can recognize as targets. The code for these fragments is encoded in mRNA, an instructional molecule for cells. After injection, cells produce the fragments and present them to the immune system.

Following the announcement, Moderna shares rose 177% in one day. By Friday’s close, Illumina had gained 16% and PacBio 18%. GEN attributes these increases to expectations that each patient’s tumor mutations will need to be sequenced and analyzed to select the set of targets for that patient’s therapy.

The INTerpath program includes nine Phase II and III trials across several cancer types. GEN describes the gains in the shares of the two sequencing instrument manufacturers as reflecting expectations of a recurring step across this program: analyzing each tumor before producing an individualized mRNA therapy.