Personalis Advances Business Strategy with Investment from Merck and Extends Collaboration with Moderna
December 19 2024 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSNL) announced today agreements with
long time collaborators Merck and Moderna that accelerate the
advancement of the company’s business strategy. The company has
received an investment from Merck, known as MSD outside the United
States and Canada, and separately has signed a multi-year extension
with Moderna to utilize Personalis’ ImmunoID NeXT Platform® and
technology for V940/mRNA-4157, an investigational individualized
neoantigen therapy (INT), being jointly developed by Merck and
Moderna.
Merck has agreed to purchase $50 million of Personalis common
stock in a private placement at a price of $3.56 per share, which
was the last reported closing price of Personalis’ common stock as
reported on The Nasdaq Global Market on December 18, 2024.
Following the closing, Merck will own approximately 14 million
shares of Personalis common stock, representing an approximately
16.5 percent beneficial ownership interest in Personalis.
“Individualized therapies have the potential to transform cancer
care,” said Chris Hall, CEO of Personalis. “A key focus for
Personalis has been supporting Merck and Moderna in this important
program and we are thrilled to extend the collaboration potentially
through to treatment of cancer patients on a routine basis.”
Merck and Moderna have utilized Personalis’ industry-leading
tumor-profiling platform since the inception of the V940/mRNA-4157
clinical development program.
“We are grateful for the long-term relationship with Merck and
Moderna. Additionally, this investment reinforces our strategic
role in Merck’s precision oncology efforts,” added Hall.
About Personalis, Inc.
At Personalis, we are transforming the active management of
cancer through breakthrough personalized testing. We aim to drive a
new paradigm for cancer management, guiding care from biopsy
through the life of the patient. Our highly sensitive assays
combine tumor-and-normal profiling with proprietary algorithms to
deliver advanced insights even as cancer evolves over time. Our
products are designed to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) and
recurrence at the earliest timepoints, enable selection of targeted
therapies based on ultra-comprehensive genomic profiling, and
enhance biomarker strategy for drug development. Personalis is
based in Fremont, California. To learn more, visit
www.personalis.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and X, formerly
known as Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. All statements in this press release that are not historical
are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S.
securities laws, including statements relating to the expected
closing of Merck’s common stock investment in Personalis, Moderna’s
continued utilization of Personalis’ ImmunoID NeXT Platform and
technology as a part of the V940/mRNA-4157 clinical development
program, the term of the collaboration between Personalis and
Moderna for multiple years, the potential for individualized
therapies to transform cancer care, and the potential extension of
the collaboration with Merck and Moderna to treatment of cancer
patients on a routine basis. Such forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual results to differ materially from any
anticipated results or expectations expressed or implied by such
statements, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors
that relate to the expected benefits of INTs and Personalis’
collaboration with Moderna, the continuation or expansion of
Moderna’s INT clinical trial portfolio, the potential for Merck and
Moderna to receive FDA approval for INTs, potential future market
acceptance of INTs into routine clinical practice, the expected
benefits of Merck’s purchase of shares of Personalis’ common stock
and continuation of Personalis’ strategic role in Merck’s precision
oncology efforts. These and other potential risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
results predicted in these forward-looking statements are described
under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in
Personalis’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
on February 28, 2024, as updated by Personalis’ Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, filed with the SEC
on May 8, 2024, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
June 30, 2024, filed with the SEC on August 7, 2024, and Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, filed
with the SEC on November 6, 2024. All information provided in this
release is as of the date of this press release, and any
forward-looking statements contained herein are based on
assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. Undue
reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in
this press release, which are based on information available to us
on the date hereof. Personalis undertakes no duty to update this
information unless required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241219301298/en/
Investors: Caroline Corner investors@personalis.com
415-202-5678
Media Contact Patrick Schmidt pr@personalis.com
630-290-2787
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