Moderna-Merck melanoma vaccine cuts recurrence or death by 42%

· Health · United States

In a first international trial, adding intismeran — a personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine made from each patient's own tumor — to pembrolizumab immunotherapy after surgery for high-risk melanoma cut the risk of recurrence or death by 42% compared with standard treatment. The results, from the Moderna-Merck collaboration, were released at the ESMO congress in Madrid, arriving early after keenly awaited data leaked. Detailed data showed improvements in recurrence-free survival and in the time until distant metastasis occurred. Moderna's vaccine is an mRNA-based personalized therapy; pembrolizumab, sold by Merck as Keytruda, is an established immunotherapy. The readout is the most closely watched item at this year's ESMO meeting and the first large trial to show a benefit from a personalized cancer vaccine in melanoma after surgery.

Why it matters：A positive result for a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine would validate a platform that has struggled commercially since the pandemic, and could reset expectations for adjuvant cancer therapy across the industry.

Key points

  • Data were presented at the ESMO congress in Madrid and released early after leaking.
  • The vaccine is made from each patient's own tumor and given with pembrolizumab after surgery.
  • Recurrence-free survival and time to distant metastasis both improved.

Sources (original reporting)

More stories from this day