"Catching Cancer with Vaccines?" ... Intensifying Competition in 'Anticancer Vaccine' Development

Mechanism Activating Immune Function to Treat Cancer
Personalized Vaccines Possible by Collecting Patient Tumor Samples

mRNA Vaccine Company Moderna Partners with MSD
BioNTech Allies with Genentech and Regeneron
Aston Science and Genexine Also Active in Korea

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Will the era of treating cancer with vaccines come? Interest in vaccine development has increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and attention to cancer vaccines is also rising. Global big pharma companies are partnering with biotech firms that possess core technologies for development, while domestic companies are also stepping up their challenges one after another.

According to the industry on the 14th, the U.S. messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine specialist Moderna has teamed up with MSD (U.S. Merck) to develop a cancer treatment vaccine. The protagonist is the personalized cancer vaccine (PCV) 'mRNA-4157/V940.' MSD agreed to pay Moderna $250 million (approximately 357.9 billion KRW) while exercising co-development and commercialization options, drawing significant market attention.

mRNA-4157 is undergoing a Phase 2 combination therapy clinical trial (KEYNOTE-942) with MSD's immuno-oncology drug 'Keytruda.' The trial uses a Keytruda monotherapy group as the control to verify efficacy and safety as an adjuvant therapy for high-risk melanoma patients. Patient enrollment is complete, and key data will be released in the fourth quarter of this year.

Cancer treatment vaccines work by inducing or amplifying the immune response of cancer patients through vaccination to enhance therapeutic effects. mRNA-4157 induces T-cell responses based on tumor mutations. It is a 'personalized vaccine' made by collecting tumor samples from each patient and tailoring the vaccine to the individual's mutation characteristics.

Besides this, Moderna is also developing the KRAS mutation cancer vaccine 'mRNA-5671' and the PD-L1 targeted cancer vaccine 'mRNA-4359.' mRNA-5671 is in Phase 1 clinical trials, and mRNA-4359 is in the indication exploration stage.

However, so far, the only cancer vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is Dendreon's 'Provenge,' which was approved in 2010 for prostate cancer. Dendreon also faced commercialization difficulties, at one point nearing bankruptcy, and changed ownership several times.

But with the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in various vaccine platforms such as mRNA and DNA has grown, bringing renewed attention to cancer vaccines. Market research firm Allied Market Research predicts 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.

As global competition in cancer vaccine development intensifies, alliances and mergers are also taking place. BioNTech of Germany, which developed the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine 'Comirnaty' with Pfizer, is currently conducting research on the mRNA-based PCV 'BNT122' in combination with Genentech's (a Roche subsidiary) immuno-oncology drug 'Tecentriq.' Additionally, 'BNT111' and 'BNT116' are undergoing combination clinical trials with Regeneron's immuno-oncology drug 'Libtayo.' Vaxcyte, which holds viral vector platform technology used in AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, has initiated Phase 1/2a clinical trials of 'VTP-600' targeting non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Domestically, various companies are also challenging cancer vaccines. Aston Science and Genexine have already advanced to global clinical trials, and Cellid, Pharmicell, JW Creagen, and others are pursuing vaccine development.

Aston Science has entered clinical trials with various plasmid DNA (pDNA)-based cancer vaccines such as 'AST-301,' 'AST-302,' and 'AST-201.' AST-301 is conducting a Phase 2 combination therapy clinical trial with Keytruda targeting HER2 low-expression breast cancer patients in the U.S., Australia, and Taiwan. Recently, the first patient enrollment was completed in Taiwan.

Genexine also disclosed results of a Phase 2 clinical trial combining the DNA vaccine 'GX-188E' with Keytruda at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) last month. The company explained, "The median overall survival (mOS) significantly increased to 17.2 months compared to 9 months with Keytruda monotherapy, and the objective response rate (ORR) also greatly improved."

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