More Good News, In Merck / Moderna Immuno-Oncology Studies: This Time, Melanomas.

Again, this news won't be material for Rahway, for a few years -- but it has caused a 7% pop in (much much smaller) Moderna's stock price this morning.

It is indeed good news, for melanoma patients as well. [The figures are not unlike. . . the"cure" for Jimmy Carter's melanoma (as we reported here, in the summer of 2015).]

But to be clear, this is technically a vaccine, given to people who have advanced melanoma. And the bio-engineered cocktail vaccine. . . seems to work very, very well. It is very significantly extending the lives of cancer patients, in the studies. Here's Bloomberg on it all (but we will use our stock "immateriality" graphic -- at least as to Merck's part in this):

. . .A personalized vaccine developed by Merck & Co. and Moderna Inc. helped prevent the recurrence of severe skin cancer for three years in promising new results from a study.

Patients with severe melanomas who got the vaccine and Merck’s cancer drug Keytruda were 49% less likely to die or have their cancer return than those who got Keytruda alone, the companies said Thursday. . . .

Now you know -- onward to those steel and glass canyons this morning, now gleaming in a frigid sunshine.

And I must say, "Boop!" is a fun-filled, bouncy and empowering (if predictable) musical (one that takes on, and utterly transforms the sexism and misogyny embedded in the original cartoon) -- even if the show's not quite ready for the White Way, just yet. The lead, Jasmine Amy Rogers, is clearly "born to play Betty" -- she's someone to watch (belting high notes; tap-dancing up a storm and commanding all the drama -- in a very soothing way) -- you'll never forget her from now on, on any stage she graces. . . smile.

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