Moderna and Merck have announced positive results for their personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine, Intismeran. This is the first time such a treatment has met its objectives in a late-stage clinical trial.
The announcement sent Moderna's stock price soaring 160% during trading. The two companies revealed on Wednesday that their Intismeran vaccine had met the two primary endpoints of their Phase III trial: reducing the risk of recurrence and preventing tumor spread in patients with high-risk melanoma.
The full results of the study have not yet been published. Moderna indicates that they will be presented at an upcoming medical conference. The vaccine was tested in combination with Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug marketed by Merck.
The principle is based on a high degree of personalization: the treatment targets the specific mutations present in each patient's cancer cells, in order to train their immune system to recognize and destroy them. Similar approaches are being studied for other types of cancer, including lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer.
Stephen Hoge, president of Moderna, estimated that thousands of patients undergoing surgery for high-risk melanoma could benefit from the vaccine as early as next year, pending regulatory approval. According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, more than 1,5 million people were living with melanoma in the United States in 2023. Merck stated that the two companies are already in discussions with health authorities.
These announcements come as the Trump administration has cut funding for mRNA vaccine research. Previous work had already suggested that this technology could help the immune system identify and attack cancer cells, both in mice and in analyses of human medical records.
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