Moderna-Merck may spark cancer vaccine wave

Merck and Moderna's personalized cancer vaccine has shown promising results in a large trial involving melanoma patients. Unlike traditional chemotherapy and immunotherapy, this vaccine trains the immune system to specifically target mutations found only on a person's tumor. The vaccine, when combined with Merck's immunotherapy drug Keytruda, helped prevent the return and spread of melanoma in patients with localized tumors that had a high risk of recurrence.

Dr. Ryan Sullivan, director of the Center for Melanoma at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, believes this positive study could change the way cancer is treated broadly. Dr. Julie Gralow, chief medical officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, called the trial result a monumental leap forward, validating mRNA technology as a cancer treatment.

Merck and Moderna are currently conducting large trials in non-small cell lung cancer, bladder, kidney, pancreatic, and stomach cancers. Results from these trials are expected in the next few years. Roche and BioNTech, who developed the mRNA technology used in the Pfizer COVID vaccines, are also testing a similar treatment in colon and pancreatic cancer patients.

The vaccine, known as intismeran autogene, involves a series of up to nine doses of Keytruda followed by up to nine doses of a customized mRNA vaccine. In melanoma patients, treatment with Keytruda can cause side effects such as fatigue, diarrhea, rash, and inflammation of healthy organs. However, the companies found no new side effects with the addition of the vaccine.

A previous mid-stage trial showed that the vaccine reduced the risk of cancer recurrence by half and the risk of it spreading to new locations by 59% compared to Keytruda alone. This vaccine could be a game-changer for melanoma patients, and it's clear that the field of cancer treatment is set for an explosion of innovation with these promising results.