[Edaily Reporter Shin Ha-yeon ] Domestic mRNA-related stocks are trading higher in early trading following news that a personalized messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) cancer treatment jointly developed by Moderna and Merck has achieved its primary endpoint in a Phase 3 clinical trial.

According to MP Doctor on the 20th, as of 9:16 a.m. today, NIBEC CO., LTD.(138610)rose 4,760 won (29.86%) from the previous trading day to hit the daily price limit. Quratis Inc.(348080)(12.45%), EyeGene,Inc(185490)(11.20%), Pharmicell(005690)(10.28%), and ST Pharm Co., Ltd.(237690)(8.96%) are also trading higher.

This is believed to be the result of investor sentiment spreading to companies involved in related technologies and raw materials, as the potential for expanding mRNA technology into the cancer treatment field has come into focus. Psomagen, Inc.(950200), which has been providing DNA and RNA genomic analysis services to Moderna, is also up 29.98% from the previous trading day and has hit the daily price limit.

Overnight on the New York Stock Exchange, Moderna’s stock price soared 176.97% from the previous trading day to close at $174.38. Merck, its co-developer, also rose by more than 12%.

This surge is driven by the results of a Phase 3 clinical trial in high-risk melanoma patients, where the combination therapy of “Intismeran Autogen”—a personalized cancer treatment being jointly developed by Moderna and Merck—and the immunotherapy “Keytruda” significantly improved recurrence-free survival (RFS), which measures the time until cancer recurrence. The trial also met its primary endpoint for distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), which measures the period during which the cancer does not metastasize to other organs.

This clinical trial marks the first instance in which a personalized neoantigen therapy—an mRNA-based cancer treatment—has yielded positive results in a Phase 3 trial. This has fueled growing expectations that mRNA technology, which has demonstrated commercial viability through COVID-19 vaccines, can expand beyond infectious diseases into the field of cancer treatment.

Consequently, interest is spreading in the domestic stock market toward companies that possess raw materials and platforms related to mRNA technology. NIBEC CO., LTD. is developing “PEPTARDEL,” a peptide-based mRNA drug delivery platform that overcomes the limitations of existing lipid nanoparticles (LNPs).

Pharmicell operates a business supplying raw materials—such as nucleosides and mPEG—used in the production of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. Quratis Inc. has been developing “QTP104,” a next-generation vaccine utilizing self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) technology, and also possesses production capabilities related to mRNA-LNP.

ST Pharm Co., Ltd. is also establishing an mRNA-LNP contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) platform that encompasses everything from mRNA synthesis to lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems, and has been conducting joint research with Teragen Bio on mRNA cancer vaccines utilizing neoantigens. EyeGene,Inc. is also developing a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine platform.