Beneath the chaos surrounding Moderna and Merck's latest data on their personalized cancer vaccine, oncologists see something else: an important milestone in melanoma treatment.
The companies on Thursday released detailed results from a phase 3 trial on their mRNA-based shot after partial data leaked on social media platforms earlier that day.
The vaccine, known as intismeran autogene, reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42% when given alongside Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda, compared with Keytruda alone. The combination also reduced the risk of cancer spreading to distant parts of the body or death by 38%, compared with just the immunotherapy, according to the trial on roughly 1,100 patients whose tumors were removed by surgery.
The stock market's reaction contrasted with the assessment of six melanoma specialists, who told CNBC the results represent a clinically meaningful advance that could eventually become a standard of care for patients who undergo surgery first and have not received immunotherapy before their operation.
"This has the potential to be a major breakthrough in melanoma treatment and also cancer immunotherapy in general that will open the door to greater outcomes for patients," said Dr. Sekwon Jang, a melanoma specialist at Inova Schar Cancer and principal investigator at one of the trial's U.S. sites.