"Moderna and Merck's Combined Vaccine and Immunotherapy Show Promising Results in Melanoma Treatment"

Midstage trial data shows that Moderna and Merck's experimental cancer vaccine, when used in combination with Merck's Keytruda therapy, reduced the risk of death or relapse in patients with melanoma by 49% after three years. The combination also reduced the risk of melanoma spreading to other parts of the body by 62%. The vaccine, which uses the same mRNA technology as Moderna's Covid vaccine, is custom-built based on an analysis of a patient's tumors. The two drugmakers are continuing to study the combination in a late-stage trial for melanoma treatment, and are also testing it against other tumor types.