Intismeran cuts melanoma death or recurrence risk 42% — SkimNews
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- Intismeran — the personalised mRNA vaccine, given alongside Keytruda, cut the risk of patients dying or their skin cancer returning by 42% in the major trial, and lowered the risk of melanoma spreading by 38% over two years versus immunotherapy alone.
- Keytruda — all 1,137 adults in the trial received the established immunotherapy drug; about two-thirds were also given the experimental vaccine, with the remainder receiving a placebo or dummy drug.
- Pippa Corrie — the consultant medical oncologist who helped run part of the study with patients at Addenbrooke's Hospital called personalisation 'a fabulous technology' and 'the next step up', adding that this was 'the first proof of principle'.
- Alan Melcher — the Institute of Cancer Research professor, who was not involved in the research, called the results 'very impressive' but warned 'we can't assume from one melanoma trial that the same approach will work across all cancers'; MSD and Moderna say the approach is already being tested against kidney, bladder and lung tumours.
- MSD and Moderna said they were 'engaging with authorities', indicating they could file for approval from medicine regulators as soon as next year; shares in both surged after summer hints of the success but were sold off Thursday after analysts said the results were not quite as strong as those in an earlier, much smaller trial.
- ESMO — full trial results are due at the European Society of Medical Oncology conference in Madrid on Saturday and have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, while widespread NHS use will also depend on the cost of genetically analysing each tumour and manufacturing a personalised vaccine.
- Tony Chapman, 75, joined the study after a melanoma recurrence under his arm required a second operation; three years on he remains cancer-free, has checks every six months, and still does not know whether he received Intismeran or a placebo.
Why it matters: MSD and Moderna are engaging with regulators about filing for approval as soon as next year, yet Thursday's sell-off showed investors already repricing these results against a smaller earlier trial. For the NHS, any use of the 42% death-or-recurrence benefit hinges on the cost of genetically analysing each tumour and manufacturing a bespoke vaccine.
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