Moderna Cancer Vaccine Soars 90% After Promising Late-Stage Trial Results

Moderna's personalized mRNA vaccine, combined with Merck's Keytruda immunotherapy, has shown promising results in a late-stage trial for skin cancer. The treatment, known as Intismeran, met both its primary goal of reducing cancer recurrence and its secondary goal of preventing the disease from spreading to other parts of the body.

The study enrolled 1,137 patients with high-risk stage IIB to IV melanoma whose tumors had been surgically removed. Participants were randomly assigned to receive up to nine doses of Keytruda combined with the personalized vaccine or Keytruda alone over roughly one year. No new safety signals have emerged from the trial.

The results mark a significant development for Moderna as it seeks to diversify beyond its COVID-19 vaccine. Analysts had estimated that the therapy could generate about $3 billion in annual revenue from melanoma treatment by 2035. The company recently added an FDA-approved flu vaccine to its portfolio and is also developing experimental vaccines for diseases including norovirus and Lyme disease.

The companies will present the latest results at an upcoming medical meeting and share them with regulators. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, affecting over 1.5 million people in the United States alone.