An experimental vaccine prevented the return and spread of cancer in high-risk melanoma patients, Moderna and Merck announced Wednesday, a milestone in the pursuit of cancer therapies.
Built on the mRNA platform that allowed Moderna to quickly roll out COVID-19 vaccines five years ago, intismeran is a genetically personalized vaccine that instructs the patient’s immune system to attack tumors, slowing melanoma’s progression and spread. Such “neoantigen” vaccines have long been viewed as a promising cancer treatment, but this late-stage trial was the first aimed at “definitively proving their benefit,” STAT News wrote.
Moderna’s shares surged more than 175% on Wednesday: “We have started to demonstrate the potential of an entirely new class of medicine,” its CEO said.
