Merck and Moderna Skin Cancer Vaccine Shows Promising Trial Results

Pharmaceutical giants Merck and Moderna announced promising results from a trial of their experimental skin cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene. The vaccine showed statistically significant improvements for melanoma patients when used with Merck's Keytruda treatment.

The companies stated that the vaccine demonstrated 'clinically meaningful improvements' in the trial, marking the first positive Phase 3 readout for an individualised neoantigen therapy and an mRNA-based cancer therapy. This technology proved highly effective against severe forms of Covid-19.

While specific details of the study results were not provided, both the US FDA and the European Medicines Agency have placed the therapy on an expedited review pathway. Melanoma is one of the most deadly forms of skin cancer, with over 330,000 new cases diagnosed worldwide in 2022.

Moderna's CEO Stephane Bancel said that the company is 'helping turn the vision of creating an mRNA treatment designed specifically for an individual patient's cancer into a reality.' In pre-market trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Moderna's shares surged around 65 percent ahead of the official opening.