Moderna Expands into Cancer Field... Partners with MSD

MSD Exercises Option for Cancer Vaccine 'mRNA-4157'
Pays Moderna 357.9 Billion KRW

Phase 2 Trial Combining Keytruda for High-Risk Melanoma Ongoing
Major Results Expected Within This Year

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine specialist Moderna has partnered with MSD (U.S. Merck) to develop cancer vaccines.

On the 12th (local time), Moderna announced that MSD exercised its co-development and commercialization option for the personalized cancer vaccine (PCV) 'mRNA-4157/V940' jointly developed with the company. Through this option exercise, MSD paid Moderna $250 million (approximately 357.9 billion KRW) in the third quarter.

Currently, Moderna is conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial (KEYNOTE-942) using a combination therapy of mRNA-4157 and MSD's immuno-oncology drug Keytruda as adjuvant therapy for high-risk melanoma patients. Patient enrollment for 157 high-risk melanoma patients has been completed, and key data is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of this year. The primary efficacy endpoint is set as Recurrence-Free Survival (RFS).

Cancer treatment vaccines work by inducing cancer antigen-specific T cell responses or amplifying antigen-specific T cell responses to mediate therapeutic effects. Moderna's mRNA-4157 induces T cell responses based on tumor mutation neoepitopes. Specifically, as a PCV, it is a 'customized vaccine' made by collecting tumor samples from each patient and creating vaccines according to their mutational characteristics.

In addition, Moderna is developing the KRAS mutation cancer vaccine 'mRNA-5671' and the PD-L1 targeting cancer vaccine 'mRNA-4359.' mRNA-5671 is in Phase 1 clinical trials, and mRNA-4359 is in the indication exploration stage.

Following this news, Moderna's stock price closed at $130.72, up 8.28% from the previous day's closing price.

However, to date, the only cancer vaccine approved worldwide is Dendreon's 'Provenge,' which received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2010 for prostate cancer. Although Dendreon succeeded in obtaining FDA approval, it faced difficulties in actual commercialization, leading to bankruptcy threats and multiple ownership changes. It was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2013 but withdrew approval in 2015 for commercial reasons.

However, with the COVID-19 pandemic increasing interest in various vaccine platforms such as mRNA and DNA, as well as cell and gene therapies (CGT), cancer vaccines utilizing these technologies are gaining renewed attention. Accordingly, market research firm Allied Market Research predicts that the global cancer vaccine market will grow from $3.345 billion (approximately 4.784 trillion KRW) in 2020 at an average annual growth rate of 14.6%, reaching $7.303 billion (approximately 10.445 trillion KRW) by 2027.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.