--- title: "Elon Musk Says mRNA Has 'Tremendous Promise,' Turning Disease Into a 'Software Problem,' as Moderna Stock Rockets 177% on Cancer Vaccine Breakthrough" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296435414.md" description: "Elon Musk praised mRNA technology's potential to treat diseases like a 'software problem,' following Moderna and Merck's positive Phase 3 cancer vaccine trial results. This breakthrough caused Moderna's stock to surge 177%, while peers BioNTech and Arcturus also rallied. Musk reiterated his belief that AI and synthetic RNA will transform healthcare, responding to industry calls for tangible medical results." datetime: "2026-08-20T03:18:29.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296435414.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296435414.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296435414.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Elon Musk Says mRNA Has 'Tremendous Promise,' Turning Disease Into a 'Software Problem,' as Moderna Stock Rockets 177% on Cancer Vaccine Breakthrough **Elon Musk** said Wednesday that mRNA technology could fundamentally change how diseases are treated, a shift that would make medicine more of a software problem than a biological one, as **Moderna Inc.** (NASDAQ:MRNA) and **Merck & Co Inc.** (NYSE:MRK) posted a major cancer-vaccine trial win. ## mRNA Has ‘Tremendous’ Potential “Despite its obvious misuse during Covid, mRNA has tremendous promise for curing diseases,” Musk said in a post on X. “Artificial RNA essentially makes curing diseases a software problem.” Musk was replying to **Eric Topol**, scientist and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, who said that the Phase 3 melanoma trial breakthrough builds on “signs of success” in personalized mRNA vaccines targeting pancreatic cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer. > Despite its obvious misuse during Covid, mRNA has tremendous promise for curing diseases. > > Artificial RNA essentially makes curing diseases a software problem. > > — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 19, 2026 ## **A First-of-Its-Kind Cancer Trial Result** Moderna and Merck announced positive Phase 3 results for an individualized mRNA cancer vaccine, marking the first successful late-stage trial of its kind, with the treatment showing significant improvement in recurrence-free and metastasis-free survival in melanoma patients when combined with Merck’s Keytruda. **Read Also: Cathie Wood Bets Big on Broadcom and Cerebras, Trims AMD Stock for Third Straight Day** ## **Musk’s Push for AI As Healthcare Solutions** Musk has promoted artificial intelligence as a path to transforming healthcare, saying in June that advances in synthetic RNA could make medicine increasingly programmable and potentially “cure almost anything,” and that **Tesla Inc.**‘s Optimus humanoid robot combined with AI “will enable universal excellent healthcare that is better than anyone receives today.” On Tuesday, Musk backed AI to deliver major medical breakthroughs after **Anthropic** CEO **Dario Amodei** said AI companies must prove their value through results such as curing cancer rather than through optimistic marketing, to which Musk responded, “AI will do it.” ## mRNA Peers Rally Too **BioNTech SE** (NASDAQ:BNTX) gained 21.96% Tuesday to close at $113.12, as the company develops a similar individualized mRNA cancer immunotherapy, Autogene cevumeran, using the same tumor-targeting mechanism as Merck and Moderna’s melanoma therapy. The stock fell 0.55% in after-hours trading. **Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc**. (NASDAQ:ARCT), which is collaborating with **Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.** (NYSE:TMO) to advance an mRNA therapy for cystic fibrosis, closed 25.21% higher at $10.28 and gained another 0.78% in extended trading. Thermo Fisher rose 4.16%. **Price Action:** Moderna shares skyrocketed 176.97% to close at $174.38 before falling 4.65% in after-hours trading, while Merck closed 12.6% higher at $152.20 and gave back 0.46% in extended trading. **Benzinga edge rankings** show Moderna’s stock has a Momentum score in the 95th percentile and a positive price trend across the short, medium, and long-term. **Read Also: Trump Threatens Iran With 'the Most Crushing Economic Operation Ever': Warns Nations of 'Tremendous' Consequences for Providing Help to Tehran** ***Disclaimer*:** *This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.* *Photo Courtesy: Frederic Legrand – COMEO on Shutterstock.com* ### Related Stocks - [MRNA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MRNA.US.md) - [MRK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MRK.US.md) - [ARCT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARCT.US.md) - [BNTX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BNTX.US.md) - [MRNX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MRNX.US.md) - [MRNY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MRNY.US.md) - [AVGO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AVGO.US.md) - [CBRS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CBRS.US.md) - [AMD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AMD.US.md) - [TSLA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLA.US.md) - [TMO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TMO.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Amundi Reduces Stock Holdings in Moderna, Inc. $MRNA](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298693237.md) - [Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Insider Sells $485,766.45 in Stock](https://longbridge.com/en/news/297959605.md) - [How Trial Termination At BioNTech (BNTX) Has Changed Its Investment Story](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298362785.md) - [Merck Targets $70B Pipeline as It Prepares for KEYTRUDA Exclusivity Loss](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298558395.md) - [Moderna Chief Legal Officer Shannon Thyme Klinger disposes of USD 485,271.45 in common shares](https://longbridge.com/en/news/297958452.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**