Merck, Moderna claim 'promising' skin cancer vaccine results in key trial

Merck and Moderna, two US pharmaceutical companies, disclosed optimistic findings from a trial of their experimental melanoma vaccine on Wednesday. The vaccine, named intismeran autogene, exhibited statistically significant and clinically meaningful enhancements for skin cancer patients when combined with Merck's Keytruda treatment, as stated in the companies' announcement.

Unlike traditional vaccines, this type of therapeutic vaccine, known as intismeran autogene, aims to treat disease rather than prevent it by harnessing the body's immune system against a tumor or other invaders. This marks the first positive Phase 3 outcome for an individualized neoantigen therapy (INT) and an mRNA-based cancer treatment, referring to messenger RNA technology that proved highly effective against severe Covid-19 cases.

Specific study results and the timeline for the US Food and Drug Administration's approval decision were not disclosed by the companies, who did mention that both the FDA and the European Medicines Agency have placed the therapy on an expedited review pathway. Melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer, saw over 330,000 new cases diagnosed globally in 2022, according to the companies.

Moderna's CEO, Stephane Bancel, expressed excitement about turning the concept of creating an mRNA treatment specifically for an individual patient's cancer into reality. Moderna's shares surged by around 65 percent in pre-market trading on the New York Stock Exchange prior to the official opening on Wednesday.