The vaccine, called intismeran autogene, showed "statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements" for skin cancer patients when used with Merck's Keytruda treatment
US pharmaceutical firms Merck and Moderna announced Wednesday encouraging results from a trial of their experimental vaccine against melanoma, potentially clearing the way for approval.
The vaccine, called intismeran autogene, showed "statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements" for skin cancer patients when used with Merck's Keytruda treatment, the companies said in a statement.
Unlike conventional vaccines, so-called therapeutic vaccines like intismeran treat rather than prevent a disease, by training the body's own immune system against a tumour or other invaders.
"This represents the first positive Phase 3 readout for an individualised neoantigen therapy (INT) and for an mRNA-based cancer therapy," the companies said.
