Merck and Moderna's mRNA Cancer Vaccine Posts Significant Results in Phase 3 Trial

Merck and Moderna's mRNA cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, has met both primary and key secondary endpoints in a Phase 3 melanoma trial. This marks the first late-stage success for a cancer vaccine of its kind.

The combination of intismeran and Keytruda delivered statistically significant improvements in recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival against Keytruda alone in patients with completely resected stage IIB to IV melanoma.

Merck will present the data at an international medical meeting and engage regulators on filing submissions. The company has not published the results in a peer-reviewed journal yet.

According to Merck, five-year follow-up from the Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 trial showed a 49 percent reduction in the risk of recurrence or death and a 59 percent reduction in the risk of distant metastasis or death.