Moderna and Merck will jointly develop a cancer vaccine for high-risk melanoma patients

Pipettes are seen at the Moderna Therapeutics Inc. lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. Moderna this week started testing

A cancer vaccine that is personalized for each patient will be developed and sold by Moderna and Merck.

Moderna's vaccine is being studied in conjunction with Keytruda to treat patients with high-risk melanoma in a phase 2 trial. Data is expected to be reported in the fourth quarter.

Moderna's stock increased in value.

Moderna's vaccine is designed to cause the immune system to attack the tumors of patients. Keytruda is a vaccine that prevents T cells from attacking other cells.

The companies originally entered the agreement in 2016 but are now exercising their options. The development and commercialization of the product will be worked upon by the two companies. All costs and profits will be shared by the company.

One of the most successful vaccines against Covid-19 was developed by Moderna in partnership with the U.S. National Institute of Health.

The only commercially available product is the Covid vaccine. The company is under pressure to show how its technology can be used against other diseases.

Moderna expects $21 billion in Covid vaccine sales this year.

In the second quarter, Keytruda made up 34% of the total sales. It was approved by the FDA to treat a variety of cancer.