Intismeran cuts melanoma death and recurrence risk 42% — SkimNews
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- Intismeran, an mRNA vaccine personalised using each patient's own tumour information, cut the combined risk of death or skin cancer returning by 42% when added to Keytruda, and reduced the risk of melanoma spreading by 38% over two years compared with immunotherapy alone.
- Keytruda was given to all 1,137 adults in the trial, all of whom had already had their tumour removed by surgery; about two-thirds also received the experimental vaccine while the rest received a placebo.
- MSD and Moderna said the same personalised approach is already being tested against kidney, bladder and lung cancers, and both companies are engaging with authorities about filing for approval as soon as next year.
- Moderna shares surged after the drugmakers first hinted at the success in the summer, but investors sold off both companies' stock on Thursday after financial analysts said the results were not quite as strong as those seen in an earlier, much smaller trial.
- Pippa Corrie, the consultant medical oncologist who helped run part of the study at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, called the technology "a fabulous technology" and "the first proof of principle", while saying the question is how much its worth can really be demonstrated.
- Alan Melcher of the Institute of Cancer Research, who was not involved in the research, described the results as "very impressive" but warned that one melanoma trial cannot assume the approach works across all cancers, and that longer follow-up is needed to understand the effect on overall survival.
- ESMO is due to host the full trial results in Madrid on Saturday; the findings have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and widespread NHS use depends on the cost of genetically analysing each tumour and making a bespoke vaccine.
Why it matters: For MSD and Moderna, the 42% headline has not settled the commercial question: shares sold off on Thursday because the result trailed a smaller earlier trial, while any NHS rollout faces a per-patient genetic manufacturing bill. A filing as soon as next year keeps the deadline live, but overall survival is still unproven.
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