Could Moderna/Merck Cancer Vaccine Succeed Where Others Have Flopped?

The partners unveiled long-awaited proof-of-concept data for mRNA-4157 at the AACR meeting showing a statistically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival among melanoma patients.

Moderna and Merck unveiled long-awaited data from their Phase IIb study of cancer vaccine mRNA-4157 in melanoma • Source: Shutterstock

Hotly anticipated data from Moderna, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc.’s mRNA-4157/V940 in melanoma appeared over the weekend at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting, paving the way forward into Phase III development and additional indications while giving it a shot at the success that has thus far generally eluded other cancer vaccines.

The companies presented the results on 16 April for the Phase IIb KEYNOTE-942 trial of mRNA-4157/V940 combined with Merck’s PD-1...

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