Moderna and Merck Announce mRNA-4157/V940, an Investigational Personalized mRNA Cancer Vaccine, in Combination with KEYTRUDA(R) (pembrolizumab), Met Primary Efficacy Endpoint in Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 Trial

mRNA-4157/V940, in combination with KEYTRUDA, demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death compared to KEYTRUDA monotherapy in stage III/IV melanoma patients with high risk of recurrence following complete resection

Results are the first demonstration of efficacy for an investigational mRNA cancer treatment in a randomized clinical trial

Companies plan to discuss results with regulatory authorities and initiate a Phase 3 study in melanoma in 2023 and rapidly expand to additional tumor types

Excerpt from the Press Release:

CAMBRIDGE, MA and RAHWAY, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / December 13, 2022 / Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, and Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced that the Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942/mRNA-4157-P201 trial of mRNA-4157/V940, an investigational personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, in combination with KEYTRUDA^®, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in the primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival (RFS) versus KEYTRUDA alone for the adjuvant treatment of patients with stage III/IV melanoma following complete resection. Adjuvant treatment with mRNA-4157/V940 in combination with KEYTRUDA reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 44% (HR=0.56 [95% CI, 0.31-1.08]; one-sided p-value=0.0266) compared with KEYTRUDA alone.

“Today’s results are highly encouraging for the field of cancer treatment. mRNA has been transformative for COVID-19, and now, for the first time ever, we have demonstrated the potential for mRNA to have an impact on outcomes in a randomized clinical trial in melanoma,” said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s Chief Executive Officer. “We will begin additional studies in melanoma and other forms of cancer with the goal of bringing truly individualized cancer treatments to patients. We look forward to publishing the full data set and sharing the results at an upcoming oncology medical conference, as well as with health authorities.”

“These positive findings represent an important milestone in our collaboration with Moderna,” said Dr. Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories. “Over the last six years, our teams have worked closely together combining our respective expertise in mRNA and immuno-oncology with a focus on improving outcomes for patients with cancer. We look forward to advancing this program into the next phase of development.”

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