Notable healthcare headlines for the week: Moderna, Roche, and Abbott Laboratories in focus

Wall Street's major averages finished in the red on Friday as technology stocks continued to lag amid artificial intelligence spending fears and a continued rise in oil prices due to geopolitical issues.

The blue-chip Dow slipped 1.2%, the benchmark S&P 500 declined 0.5%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.2%.

On the other hand, the S&P 500 Health Care Sector Index (XLV) gained 1.5% for the week.

The top S&P 500 healthcare gainers and losers for the past week are as follows:

Top five gainers:

Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) +15.02%

Biogen (BIIB) +7.75%

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +6%

ResMed (RMD) +5.80%

The Cooper Companies (COO) +5.64%

Top five losers:

DexCom (DXCM) -9.45%

Moderna (MRNA) -8.22%

Viatris (VTRS) -3.51%

Cencora (COR) -2.91%

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) -2.34%

Here are some of the important healthcare stories from this week:

Moderna shares plunge on leaked cancer vaccine data

Moderna (MRNA) shares closed down more than 17% Thursday after a cancer news website earlier in the day released eagerly anticipated results for the company's personalized cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, which is under development with Merck (MRK).

That data was slated for release on Oct. 24 at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Madrid.

Before they were taken down by Oncology Central, data showed that intismeran autogene plus Keytruda (pembrolizumab) cut the risk of melanoma returning or death by 42% vs. Keytruda alone after a median follow-up of 24.6 months, meeting the primary endpoint.

Furthermore, those on the combo saw their risk of distant metastasis or death reduced by 38% compared to Keytruda alone, achieving the secondary endpoint.

In light of the leak, ESMO lifted the embargo on the dataset. Merck and Moderna also published the data.

TD Cowen's Tyler Van Buren said that the distant metastasis results were “less exceptional” than those seen for recurrent-free survival.

In August, Moderna shares spiked when topline results from the INTerpath-001 trial were released, though no details were provided at that time.

Merck shares closed Thursday down ~2%.

Roche and Hansoh ink cancer drug deal potentially worth more than $14B

China-based Hansoh Pharma (HNSPF) on Monday announced a partnership with Roche (RHHBY) to develop a new class of cancer medicines called antibody-drug conjugates as part of a collaboration and licensing agreement potentially worth more than $14B.

Under the deal, Hansoh (HNSPF) will lead early development of a broad portfolio of its ADC programs up to the Phase 1 global clinical trials for Roche (RHHBY) to take over their further development.

The Swiss drugmaker will pay $400M upfront and an anniversary payment of $110M to Hansoh (HNSPF) as it obtains global rights to the drugs (excluding the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan).

The Shanghai-based firm is also eligible to receive more than $15B milestone payments tied to the development, regulatory approval, and commercialization of the selected programs in addition to tiered royalties on their future product sales.

The company could also generate upside from the U.S. commercialization of up to two programs if it exercises the related options and takes part in their global development outside the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

The partnership represents the second such deal between the companies in the ADC space.

Danaher drops after Q3 revenue miss amid CEO transition

Danaher (DHR) shares fell on Wednesday after the life sciences giant missed Street forecasts with its Q3 2026 revenue, as the company undergoes a leadership transition.

The Washington, DC-based firm reported $6.55B in revenue for the quarter, with ~9% YoY growth, yet missed the consensus by $10M as its diagnostic and life sciences segments failed to offset weakness in its biotech segment.

Danaher’s (DHR) diagnostic and life sciences revenue reached $2.88B and $1.87B, exceeding the $2.85B and $1.85B projected by analysts, respectively, according to Bloomberg data, while its biotech unit added $1.80B compared with $1.87B in the consensus.

However, Danaher's (DHR) adjusted earnings per share grew ~12% YoY to $2.11, beating the consensus by $0.19 per share, as the adjusted operating profit margin stood at roughly 30%, beating the Street forecasts by more than 300 bps.

Looking ahead, the company raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $8.57 - $8.62 from $8.45 - $8.60, well ahead of $8.51 in the consensus.

Abbott slips after cutting 2026 growth outlook amid nutrition spinoff

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) slipped on Wednesday after the MedTech giant lowered its full-year growth outlook with its Q3 2026 results amid plans to separate its nutrition business.

However, its Q3 results topped estimates, as revenue reached $13.0B with a ~14.5% YoY growth exceeding the consensus by $20M, while its Nutrition and Diagnostics units offset weakness in its MedTech and Established Pharmaceuticals segments.

Abbott’s (ABT) nutrition and diagnostics sales reached $2.26B and $3.31B, exceeding the Street forecasts of $2.21B and $3.28B, respectively, according to Bloomberg data. However, its MedTech and Pharma sales stood at $5.83B and $1.61B, compared with $5.88B and $1.62B in the consensus.

The company’s adjusted earnings per share, meanwhile, improved ~9% YoY to $1.42, topping estimates by $0.01 as its gross margin rose to ~57% from ~56% in the prior-year period.

Looking ahead, Abbott (ABT) projected its 2026 adjusted EPS to reach $5.50 - $5.55 compared with $5.45 - $5.60 in the prior forecast and set its full-year outlook for comparable sales growth at about 6% down from 6.5% - 7.5% previously.