Moderna and Merck conclude clinical trials of a skin cancer vaccine with 'positive results'

Pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck have concluded the last phase of clinical trials of a melanoma vaccine with "positive results."

In a statement, they point out that the combination of the vaccine with immunotherapy "can reduce the risk of relapse or death" in patients with advanced melanoma, a possibility that, they say, "has the potential to establish a new treatment paradigm" in skin cancer.

It is an experimental individualized shot based on messenger RNA that is designed and produced from a sample of the patient's tumor to identify its mutational signature and thus generate an antitumor immune response.

The vaccine, which encodes up to 34 neoantigens and adapts to the unique biology of each patient's tumor, teaches the patient's immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells if they reappear.

"For many years, the idea of ​​creating an RNA treatment specifically designed for a person's cancer was difficult to imagine. Now we are helping to make this vision a reality," said Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel.

The phase three clinical trial of this vaccine has been conducted with 1,137 people. This is the phase before the drug can be approved.