Moderna-Merck Personalized Melanoma Vaccine Cuts Recurrence or Death Risk 42% in Phase 3 Trial

Moderna and Merck said their personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine, intismeran, given with Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda, cut the risk of cancer recurrence or death by 42% compared with Keytruda alone in a Phase 3 trial of 1,137 patients whose tumors had been surgically removed. At two years, 82% of patients who received the vaccine plus Keytruda had no recurrence, versus 70% of those who received Keytruda plus placebo. In all, 757 patients got the vaccine and 380 got a placebo. The companies said the combination also cut the risk of distant spread or death by 38%. Each vaccine is made by sequencing a patient's tumor to find mutated proteins found only on cancer cells, then using mRNA to train the immune system to attack them. Detailed results were released Thursday and are to be presented Saturday at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid. Dr. Marjorie Green, Merck's head of oncology clinical development, said the company plans to seek regulatory approval as soon as possible. Researchers are also testing therapeutic vaccines for kidney, bladder, lung and pancreatic cancers and glioblastoma.

The right-leaning Daily Wire leads with the drugmakers' report, under a headline saying the vaccine shows promise. It gives the 82.2% figure and the 38% distant-spread result, quotes Merck's Green on immunizing the body, stresses the path to approval and lists other cancers under study. It describes the trial as covering Stage IIB-IV melanoma and cites Dr. Robert Vonderheide calling the results a first step. The left-leaning NBC News leads with oncologists hailing a breakthrough and puts Vonderheide, who was not involved in the trial, first, calling the results a game changer. It also gives the group sizes, describes the patients as Stage 3 and explains what that stage means, and notes the Madrid presentation. Both report the 42% reduction, the 82% versus 70% result, the 1,137 patients and the Keytruda backing. They differ in emphasis: industry voices and regulatory plans on the right, outside expert praise and trial detail on the left, and a different stage description. MarketWatch takes a distinct angle, saying approval looks likely while skeptics question whether it will be the best option.