Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) jumped more than 14% on Friday, following reports of a major new cancer research initiative.

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A new counteroffensive against cancer

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) plans to begin a campaign to fast-track cancer treatment research in December, according to a report by The New York Times. The program hopes to replicate the success of efforts to develop Covid-19 vaccines during the early stages of the pandemic.

The public-private partnership would bring together researchers and other resources from a range of healthcare companies and nonprofits to accelerate scientific discoveries. Initial research is expected to focus on pancreatic, liver, and colorectal cancer, as well as pediatric tumors.

Moderna is a leader in cancer vaccine research

The initiative comes at a time when advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and mRNA technology are making it possible for doctors to design treatments tailored to each patient's immune system.

On Aug. 19, Moderna and Merck (NYSE:MRK) announced that their co-developed investigational mRNA-based therapy, intismeran, when administered in combination with Merck's Keytruda, increased the time before cancer returned or spread in patients with high-risk melanoma.

These and other encouraging clinical trial results are prompting healthcare leaders to devote more resources to cancer research. That could help to accelerate Moderna's development timelines, potentially enabling the biotech to deliver new therapies to patients -- and profits to shareholders -- faster than previously expected.

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