1. Scrip
  2. >>Business

Merck Bets Moderna's Cancer Vaccines Can Prime Patients For Immunotherapy

 
• By Joseph Haas

The companies will work together to develop personalized cancer vaccines against several tumor types, including an effort to pair a personalized vaccine with Keytruda.

business

Merck & Co. Inc. placed a $200m wager on the potential for messenger RNA technology from privately held Moderna Therapeutics LLC to create cancer vaccines that will work well with the big pharma's immuno-oncology agents, such as Keytruda (pembrolizumab), including priming patients whose cancers might not otherwise respond to immunotherapy. The deal was announced on the same day that Galena Biopharma Inc. announced the termination of a Phase III breast trial, marking yet another cancer vaccine failure.

Under the deal disclosed on June 29, Merck will pay $200m up front to collaborate with Moderna on personalized mRNA vaccines for multiple tumor types that will encode each patient's unique cancer neoantigens. Cambridge, Mass

Read the full article – start your free trial today!

Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on Scrip for daily insights

  • Start your 7-day free trial
  • Explore trusted news, analysis, and insights
  • Access comprehensive global coverage
  • Enjoy instant access – no credit card required
Start Free Trial

Already a subscriber?

More from Business

Shionogi In $1bn Deal For Japan Tobacco’s Pharma Ops

 
• By Ian Haydock

Mid-sized Japanese pharma firm to acquire tobacco giant’s pharma operations and take private the listed Torii Pharmaceutical business, in bid to build sales reach and strengthen manufacturing.

Sarepta Slammed By Double Blow: Elevidys Sales Miss, Prasad’s CBER Appointment

 
• By Mandy Jackson

Sarepta’s stock price was battered after Vinay Prasad was appointed to lead the US FDA’s CBER, then the company’s shares were bruised when Q1 Elevidys sales came in below consensus.

Marea Eyes Cardioprotective Benefit With ANGPTL4 Inhibition

 
• By Joseph Haas

Phase IIa data for ANGPTL4-targeted antibody shows reduced triglycerides and remnant cholesterol, which Marea asserts indicates potential to protect against cardiovascular outcomes.

BeiGene To Trade Beach For Chalet In Swiss Redomiciling As BeOne

 
• By Alaric DeArment

The biotech saw a slight quarter-over-quarter decline in sales from the BTK inhibitor Brukinsa, which it attributed to seasonality, while revenues overall missed some analyst estimates.

More from Scrip

Industry Makes Its Case To Trump In Effort To Sidestep Tariffs

 
• By Jessica Merrill

Pharmaceutical industry organizations offered alternatives to tariffs that could maintain a secure domestic supply chain in public comments filed in response to a 232 investigation.

Copycats Compound Novo’s Wegovy Growth Problems

 
• By Andrew McConaghie

The US FDA has ordered compounders of the Danish firm's obesity drug semaglutide to shut up shop later this month, but competition from Eli Lilly is only increasing.

Stock Watch: Market Optimism Outshines Q1 Currency And Tariff Woes

 
• By Andy Smith

The weak US dollar helped some companies reporting first-quarter results and hindered others reporting in stronger currencies. But even the impacts of currencies and Medicare modernization on first-quarter revenues were overlooked when an end to the trade wars seemed possible.