Nevertheless, in the past year, Merck (MRK) delivered an impressive 73% return to investors, outpacing the S&P 500. The peak occurred on August 19,

Melanoma was slower to recur in patients receiving Merck and Moderna's mRNA vaccine with Keytruda, supporting use of the combination in adjuvant treatment. The partners plan to take the data to the FDA.

The story has been refreshed with the latest market price action and a revised headline. Elon Musk said Wednesday that mRNA technology could fundamentally change how diseases are treated, a shift that would make medicine more of

Merck, which makes the popular cancer treatment Keytruda, is poised to gain ground as its pipeline drugs get close to coming to market, per Morgan Stanley.

Led by positive momentum for shares of Goldman Sachs and Merck, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up Friday afternoon. Supported by world-class markets data from Dow Jones and FactSet, and partnering with Automated Insights, MarketWatch Automation brings you the latest, most pertinent content at record speed and with unparalleled accuracy.

You do not expect a pharmaceutical giant with a $376 billion market cap to put up numbers that make growth investors blush. Yet over the last 12 months, Merck (MRK) handed investors an 80% return, lapping the S&P 500.