Moderna and Merck Co Inc announced this week the success of their personalised cancer vaccine in a large-scale trial of melanoma patients, potentially paving the way for new cancer treatments.
The trial of over 1,000 patients is the first positive late-stage study result for an mRNA cancer vaccine, which trains a patient’s immune system to fight tumors by targeting specific mutations in those cells.
Results of the ongoing study showed the treatment, which combines Moderna’s vaccine with Merck’s widely used immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda), met primary targets including reducing cancer recurrence and preventing tumors from spreading to other parts of the body, compared with pembrolizumab alone.
Each of the participants involved had localised melanoma tumours that were removed surgically but had a high chance of reoccurring. Moderna said they now expect that thousands of melanoma patients could benefit from this treatment, known as intismeran autogene, within the first few years of its release.
In January this year, the companies announced the results of a mid-stage trial for the same combination treatment, showing that it reduced the risk of tumour recurrence or death by 49% after five years.
Unlike chemotherapy, which kills both healthy and cancerous cells, or immunotherapy which boosts the immune system, personalised cancer vaccines work by training a person’s immune system to specifically recognise and destroy mutations found only on their tumour.
Merck said the companies are already in talks with regulators about the treatment while a Modern spokesperson predicted it could be available as soon as next year.
The news signifies the beginning of a wave of new potentail cancer treatments. Beyond just melanoma, personalised cancer vaccines are being tested in late-stage studied to treat a host of different tumour types, including small cell lung cancer for which Merck and Moderna are currently running several large trials.
The companies are also running mid-stage trials examining the effects of the mRNA and pembrolizumab combination treatment in patients with bladder and kidney cancers, as well as in early-stage trials in pancreatic and stomach cancers.
Trials are ongoing and the companies have not yet released the full results of the melanoma study. They will continue to monitor participants to determine in the long-run whether the drug extends overall survival.
This most recent success, however, is a promising turn of events for Moderna which has struggled to generate new products since its COVID-19 vaccine. The announcement on Wednesday saw the company’s shares surge to multiyear highs, adding nearly $40bn to the company’s market capitalization.
Merck climbed 12% on hopes the vaccine will expand its prospects in cancer as pembrolizumab, once the world’s best-selling drug, faces patent expiration later this decade.
Prof Georgina Long, the study’s principal investigator and medical director of Melanoma Institute Australia, Chair of Melanoma Medical Oncology and Translational Research at the University of Sydney said: “Today’s results represent a landmark moment for adjuvant melanoma treatment.
“Intismeran in combination with pembrolizumab has the potential to establish a new treatment paradigm in the adjuvant melanoma setting, helping patients remain cancer-free for longer,” she added.
Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, called the treatment “transformative”, saying: “These Phase 3 findings represent a pivotal moment for the field of cancer research. For many years, the idea of creating an mRNA treatment designed specifically for an individual patient’s cancer was aspirational. We are now helping turn that vision into a reality,”
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