Moderna and Merck's Cancer Vaccine Trial Shows Promising Results in Preventing Melanoma Recurrence

Mark Orwig, a 73-year-old tennis coach from Moraga, California, was diagnosed with melanoma in September 2023. He underwent surgery to remove the tumour and then joined a clinical trial for an experimental treatment called intismeran autogene at the University of California at San Francisco.

Intismeran is an mRNA-based cancer vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck, which targets specific mutations in a patient's tumour. Orwig was one of 1,136 skin cancer patients worldwide who participated in the Phase 3 trial, which tested intismeran's ability to prevent melanoma recurrence when combined with immunotherapy.

Orwig received infusions of Keytruda, an approved immunotherapy drug, every six weeks and injections of either intismeran or a placebo every three weeks for a year. He experienced side effects such as fatigue, nausea, headaches, and soreness after his injections, but has not seen any recurrence of the cancer.

The trial was successful, with Moderna and Merck announcing that the data shows intismeran can prevent melanoma from recurring when combined with immunotherapy. This milestone could lead to the development of other cancer vaccines and potentially open the door for FDA approval of an mRNA-based cancer treatment.