Personalized Melanoma Vaccine Shows Promising Results
Moderna and Merck have announced that their melanoma vaccine, intismeran, has shown promising results in a late-stage trial. The treatment combines an mRNA vaccine with Keytruda to target specific mutations found in patients' tumors.
The trial enrolled 1,137 high-risk patients with stage 2b to 4 melanoma who had undergone surgery. Those receiving the personalized vaccine and Keytruda saw a significant reduction in cancer recurrence and metastasis compared to those receiving only Keytruda.
Moderna's CEO, Stephane Bancel, hailed the results as 'a new chapter in cancer care,' likening them to the breakthrough announcement of the company's COVID-19 vaccine on November 16, 2020. The companies plan to file for regulatory approval within months and have reported no new safety concerns.
Karen Knudsen, CEO of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, said the results signal 'a truly next phase in immunotherapy,' opening up a new era for treating solid-tumor cancers.