Moderna and Merck's Algorithm-Fueled Cancer Vaccine Breaks New Ground

The FDA has approved a groundbreaking cancer vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck, marking a significant milestone in algorithm-fueled medicine. Intismeran autogene is the first approved medicine whose genetic instructions are determined by a computer.

The vaccine targets melanoma, which provides a 'feast of good candidate neoantigens,' making it an obvious place to start. Researchers took tumor samples from patients and analyzed thousands of unique mutations to select mutant proteins for inclusion in the vaccine.

Nicholas Valiante, Moderna's first scientist on the project, said that the regulatory aspect was a major challenge, but also an opportunity to change the paradigm. The algorithm used by Moderna surveys DNA mutations and considers several factors, including whether the mutation is common across the tumor and whether it changes a protein.

However, some experts are skeptical of the vaccine's success, arguing that the algorithm may not be necessary. They point to studies suggesting that mRNA vaccines can boost the efficacy of medicines like Keytruda on their own.