Limestone | Stock | Getty Images
modernexperimental cancer vaccine, used in combination with MerckKeytruda reduces the risk of the deadliest form of skin cancer spreading to other parts of the body in a clinical trial, according to midstage trial The results were announced on Monday.
The trial found that Moderna’s cancer vaccine reduced the risk of melanoma spreading to other parts of the body or dying by 65%, compared with patients treated with Merck’s immunotherapy alone.
Moderna and Merck will present the data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago at 5 p.m. ET.
The clinical trial enrolled 157 patients whose cancer had been surgically removed.
Patients in the treatment group received 1 mg of the Moderna vaccine every three weeks for a total of nine doses, and received 200 mg of Coreda intravenously every three weeks for about a year.
Melanoma is responsible for the vast majority of skin cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. According to the association, the incidence of melanoma has increased rapidly over the past few decades.
According to the association, approximately 100,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, and nearly 8,000 are expected to die from the disease.
The data released on Monday was the latest promising results from Moderna and Merck & Co.
Combining Moderna’s cancer vaccine with Keytruda reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence by 44%, compared with patients treated with Merck’s immunotherapy alone, the companies reported in April.
In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Moderna and Merck, which aims to expedite the development and review of treatments for serious and life-threatening diseases.