MRNA is popping today on news that their collaboration with Merck targeting melanoma had positive results from their Phase 2b testing, which reduced the risk of recurrence or death ~44% compared to standard treatment. That’s a big difference!
They are testing a combination therapy of Keytruda, a widely used chemotherapy of Merck’s which helps enable immune response targeting cancer cells, with a personalized cancer vaccine by Moderna that aims to boost the immune response to the specific cancer that is invading the patient’s body.
From the press release:
Treatment with mRNA-4157/V940 in combination with KEYTRUDA reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 44% (HR=0.56 [95% CI, 0.31-1.08]; one-sided p-value=0.0266) compared with KEYTRUDA alone.
“Today’s results are highly encouraging for the field of cancer treatment. mRNA has been transformative for COVID-19, and now, for the first time ever, we have demonstrated the potential for mRNA to have an impact on outcomes in a randomized clinical trial in melanoma,” said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s Chief Executive Officer. "We will begin additional studies in melanoma and other forms of cancer with the goal of bringing truly individualized cancer treatments to patients.
This is an exciting advance in cancer treatment that is potentially applicable to a lot of different types of cancer. The press release includes voluminous information about risks and side effects of Keytruda, but also, lower down, a list of cancers it’s used for, which include small cell lung cancer and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, some types of colorectal and breast cancers and many more.
Adding Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine to the treatment regime could well improve results of using Keytruda on these other cancers too.