Image source: Moderna
Merck announced today that it divested its direct holding in Moderna in the first half of the fourth quarter of 2020.
Merck, which had invested $50 million in Moderna in 2015 and an additional $125 million in 2018, said it would retain indirect exposure through its venture fund investments.
The pharmaceutical giant said it had "achieved a substantial gain" on its investment, "particularly in 2020 given the substantial appreciation" in Moderna's stock price as it has been among the leaders in COVID-19 vaccine development.
Moderna went public in December 2018 at a valuation of $7.6 billion and is currently valued at approximately $58 billion. The company filed earlier this week with the FDA for emergency use authorization of its vaccine.
Merck said that it continues to collaborate with Moderna on the development of personalized cancer vaccines in addition to a cancer vaccine that encodes the four most common KRAS gene mutations, which occur in up to 20% of all cancers.
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Source: Equities News
