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Merck and Moderna post Phase 3 melanoma vaccine results with Keytruda
The companies said intismeran autogene produced statistically significant, clinically meaningful improvements in skin cancer patients when combined with Keytruda.
Merck and Moderna announced encouraging Phase 3 results for an experimental melanoma therapeutic vaccine, intismeran autogene, saying the data could help pave the way for regulatory approval.
The companies said the vaccine showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements for skin cancer patients when used with Merck’s Keytruda treatment, noting that therapeutic vaccines train the body’s immune system to target tumors rather than prevent disease.
Agencies reported that the news lifted Moderna shares sharply in early New York trading, while Merck stock also rose. Moderna climbed more than 90.0% to around US$120 a share, and Merck was up 10.0%.
Merck and Moderna said the results represent the first positive Phase 3 readout for an individualised neoantigen therapy and an mRNA-based cancer therapy, referring to messenger RNA technology used in successful Covid-19 treatments.