Merck and Moderna's Intismeran Vaccine Shows Promising Results in Late-Stage Trial

Merck and Moderna have reported promising results from their late-stage trial of an mRNA melanoma vaccine, known as Intismeran. The treatment combines a personalized mRNA vaccine with the immunotherapy drug Keytruda to reduce skin cancer recurrence and spread in high-risk patients.

The trial enrolled 1,137 patients with Stage IIB-IV melanoma that had been surgically removed. Volunteers received up to nine doses of Keytruda plus the personalized vaccine or Keytruda alone for about one year. The results show that Intismeran met both its primary target of reducing cancer recurrence and its secondary goal of keeping cancers from spreading to other parts of the body.

Melanoma Canada CEO Falyn Katz called the results 'incredibly encouraging,' noting the preliminary nature of the information. However, full data from the ongoing late-stage study has yet to be released. The companies plan to present their results at an upcoming medical meeting and share them with regulators.