The results will be presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid on Oct. 24.
Intismeran, developed jointly by Moderna and Merck, represents a new way to harness the immune system in cancer, by training immune cells to recognize 34 specific proteins on tumor cells. The mRNA coding for these proteins, or antigens, are encased in a lipid particle in a similar way to Moderna’s COVID vaccine, which used mRNA from the COVID virus’ spike protein. Using this mRNA approach, once cells start making the foreign proteins coded for by the mRNA, the immune system sees them as intruders and mounts a response against them—and the latest data show that the approach works not just against viral proteins but also against those found on tumors.
“I was surprised by the fact that the results replicated the Phase 2 [study] so closely,” says Dr. David Berman, chief development officer at Moderna, referring to an earlier stage study the companies released in June that the combination lowered the risk of cancer returning or death by 49% over a year. That study also reported that the therapy lowered the risk of the cancer spreading to other sites by 59% compared to the checkpoint inhibitor alone. “This Phase 3 [study] included a much broader population, so the hypothesis was that the treatment effect would be harder to see. There was a lot of suspicion going in that these results would not be as good as those in the Phase 2. But the fact that they reproduced almost exactly what we saw initially in the Phase 2 blew my mind.”
Data on overall survival of people on the combination therapy isn’t available yet.
Traditionally, personalized therapies have not been practical as medical treatment because of their high cost and long timeline to develop. But Berman is confident that the bespoke process of making an individualized mRNA cancer vaccine for each patient is both scalable and potentially affordable. “We have scaled down the technical footprint and have plans to scale up [the program] to look at different tumors,” he says. “The nice thing about the [mRNA] system is that it’s purely enzymatic, so no cell cultures need to be grown.” Another advantage of using mRNA is its speed—scientists at Moderna can develop a customized vaccine based on a patient’s tumor within weeks—critical for any patient with cancer.
Hence then, the article about a personalized cancer vaccine lowers melanoma recurrence by 42 was published today ( ) and is available on Time ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( A Personalized Cancer Vaccine Lowers Melanoma Recurrence by 42% )
Also on site :