CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — The pharmaceutical companies Merck and Moderna announced Wednesday they will begin testing a skin cancer vaccine. Moderna developed the mRNA treatment, which will be used in combination with the Merck immunotherapy drug Keytruda to treat patients with high-risk melanoma.
An earlier study of 157 patients found the combined treatment reduced the risk of melanoma’s recurrence or patient death by 44% compared with those who only took Keytruda. The combination therapy is customized for each patient to help generate T-cells that can help fight cancer and infection based on the unique mutational signature of an individual’s tumor.
Globally, more than 325,000 are diagnosed with melanoma and 57,000 people die from it each year, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The trial is currently enrolling people in Australia for a global study of 1,089 patients who will participate at 165 sites in 25 countries. To take part, patients need to have had a tumor that was surgically removed before beginning treatment.
The primary endpoint of the research is “recurrence-free survival,” the companies said in a statement. Secondary goals are metastasis-free survival, overall survival and safety.
The companies said they plan to expand the combined vaccination therapy to treat other types of tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer.