Merck and Moderna's mRNA Cancer Vaccine Meets Key Goals in Melanoma Trial

A major breakthrough has been made in cancer treatment as Merck and Moderna's personalised mRNA cancer vaccine, known as intismeran autogene, met key goals in a large Phase 3 melanoma trial.

The combination of intismeran with Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda significantly improved recurrence-free survival in patients with high-risk Stage IIB-IV melanoma, who had undergone surgery to remove their tumours.

In the study involving 1,137 patients, intismeran plus Keytruda met a key secondary goal of improving distant metastasis-free survival, which measures how long patients remain alive without the cancer spreading to other parts of the body.