After years of layoffs, cash burn and political attacks on its core technology, Moderna’s melanoma vaccine data notched the biotech company a much-needed win.

Combining a vaccine and immunotherapy approach could open new ways to treat cancer.

The companies have not published the trial data but said in a news release that the experimental treatment extended the time before cancer returned in high-risk patients.

A personalized mRNA vaccine for melanoma reduced the risk of the cancer returning in a phase III clinical trial, the companies behind the trial announced this week. The vaccine — which relies on the same mRNA technology used to develop COVID-19 shots — is the first mRNA-based cancer treatment to show success in a late-stage trial.

A cancer vaccine developed by Merck and Moderna treating patients with melanoma showed positive and promising late-stage testing results.

A personalized vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and Merck & Co. helped reduce the recurrence of melanoma in a large, late-stage trial, raising expectations for treating the deadliest form of skin cancer and showing the promise of the embattled mRNA technology.

Moderna stock surged following positive cancer-vaccine data, burning short sellers and spilling over into the semi sector.