MRNA CANCER VACCINE SUCCEEDED IN PHASE 3 MELANOMA TRIAL, MODERNA AND MERCK SAY

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Moderna and Merck's novel mRNA-based vaccine was effective in a late-stage clinical trial of patients with melanoma. The vaccine, individually tailored to target a patient's unique cancer mutations, works using a synthetic mRNA that holds the unique genetic coding for up to 34 mutations in a patient's own cancer cells. The production process involves comparing the genetic sequences of a patient's cancer cells to those of healthy cells and picking out any cancer-specific mutations that could help the immune system differentiate cancer cells from healthy ones.