Biotech News Roundup: Moderna Hit by 'Sell the News' Wave, AI Giants Continue to Expand in Life Sciences

BlockBeats news, October 23 — Moderna suffered a sell-off after Phase 3 trial data for its personalized cancer vaccine was disclosed early. According to BIT (bit.com) market data, on October 22, its shares closed down 17.57% at $202.63, hitting an intraday low of $180.80, a drop of about 26.45% from the previous close. Previously, on August 19, news of positive results from the related trial had sent its shares surging 177% in a single day.

Notably, the disclosure was not a trial failure. Merck & Co. and Moderna subsequently announced that in the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial, the personalized therapy intismeran combined with Keytruda reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 42% and the risk of distant metastasis or death by 38% in certain post-surgery melanoma patients compared with Keytruda alone. Overall survival data are not yet mature, and the study is ongoing. Analysts believe the share price decline is a "sell the news" reaction after a continuous rally.

In addition, AI giants continue to expand into life sciences. On October 20, OpenAI announced the acquisition of Orchestra Bio, which develops an AI platform to help biopharma teams coordinate drug R&D. Its team and technology will be integrated with OpenAI's life sciences tool Rosalind, with the deal amount undisclosed. OpenAI also said it has partnered with Moderna and Novo Nordisk to apply AI to R&D processes. Anthropic previously acquired AI biotech company Coefficient Bio, reportedly for about $400 million in stock. Anthropic has already conducted internal biolab work, and its life sciences head said that by headcount and resource investment, life sciences has become one of the company's largest investment areas.

On October 21, Nvidia announced the launch of the open model RFD4-Proteina with the University of Washington's Institute for Protein Design for protein design and search. Companies including Benchling, Boltz, Danaher, and Automata are also using its BioNeMo platform to develop scientific AI agents that connect drug design, biological data, and automated lab workflows.

On large pharma M&A, according to a company announcement on October 19, Merck KGaA has signed an agreement to acquire RNA interference therapy developer Silence Therapeutics for $20 in cash per American Depositary Share, a 130% premium to its October 16 closing price. The deal corresponds to an equity value of about $1.3 billion and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to shareholder, court, and regulatory approvals. Merck KGaA and Moderna's partner Merck & Co. are different companies.