Moderna, Merck Win Phase 3 Skin Cancer Vaccine Trial in 1,100 Patients
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 20
Moderna, Merck Win Phase 3 Skin Cancer Vaccine Trial in 1,100 Patients
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 20
Summary
More than 1,100 melanoma patients were enrolled in the Phase 3 trial that Moderna and Merck said their personalized skin cancer vaccine successfully passed.
The shot is designed from each patient's tumor mutations and used with Merck's Keytruda to train the immune system to block cancer from returning.
A 2022 Phase 2 study had shown the combination cut recurrence or death risk by 44% versus Keytruda alone; full Phase 3 data have not yet been released.
The result boosts hopes that mRNA-based personalized vaccines can be made in about six weeks and extended to kidney, bladder and lung cancers, with kidney data due by early 2027.