Business & Development

Moderna-Merck Alliance: Together for a Skin Cancer Vaccine

On December 13, 2022, the shares of the pharmaceutical company Moderna increased by 8% after the announcement of the results obtained in the phase 2 study (NCT03897881). This study involved the combination of the mRNA-4157 vaccine produced by Moderna plus the immunotherapy drug Pembrolizumab (V940) from Merck versus pembrolizumab alone. The synergy between both drugs (mRNA-4157/V940) led to a 44% decrease in skin cancer cases and a statistically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with complete resection of stage III/IV cutaneous melanoma.

The strategic collaboration was agreed since 2016 in an agreement where Merck made an advance payment to Moderna of 250 million dollars so that the latter will use it to lead all research and development efforts in favor of the vaccine, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), the successful immune-boosting drug approved for nearly 18 types of cancer, is projected to be one of the world’s best-selling drugs

by 2023, adding nearly $3 billion in sales to date and is forecast to generate nearly ~$24 billion in sales by 2023. We hope that this new year will continue the studies that support the safety and efficacy of this innovative vaccine that represents hope in the fight against skin cancer.

Dr. Claudia Mejía Morales

Research and Development Analyst at Drox Health Science.