Moderna and Merck Score Cancer Vaccine Win
Moderna and Merck report a historic success in late-stage trials for a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine in melanoma patients. The treatment successfully prevented tumor recurrence, marking a major milestone in oncology research.
MODERNA INC and MERCK & CO. INC. delivered the first successful late-stage test of a therapeutic cancer vaccine, keeping tumors from spreading in over 1,000 melanoma patients. The breakthrough follows a century of failed attempts to train the immune system to fight custom cancers. Wall Street is already projecting billions of dollars in sales as the companies prepare regulatory submissions.
The milestone mirrors Moderna's 2020 COVID-19 vaccine results, according to chief executive Stephane Bancel. Both companies spent a decade collaborating on the mRNA-based treatment, which pairs the vaccine with Merck's established immunotherapy drug Keytruda.
