Moderna and Merck’s mRNA cancer vaccine has successfully completed its phase 3 clinical trial, the companies announced. Those who were involved in the trial underwent surgery to remove skin cancer.
Professor Georgina Long, the study’s principal investigator and medical director of Melanoma Institute Australia, Chair of Melanoma Medical Oncology and Translational Research at the University of Sydney, said in a statement that the technology has the “potential to establish a new treatment paradigm in the adjuvant melanoma setting, helping patients remain cancer-free for longer.”
“These Phase 3 findings represent a pivotal moment for the field of cancer research. For many years, the idea of creating an mRNA treatment designed specifically for an individual patient’s cancer was aspirational. We are now helping turn that vision into a reality,” said Stéphane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna. “Together with Merck, we have started to demonstrate the transformative potential of this technology to address critical unmet needs in the adjuvant melanoma setting. We are deeply grateful to the patients, investigators and study teams whose contributions make this progress possible.”
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said earlier this year that artificial intelligence projects may be used to develop mRNA vaccines. “One of the most exciting things we’re working on … is our cancer vaccine,” Ellison said. “You can do early cancer detection … with a blood test, and using AI to look at the blood test, you can find the cancers that are actually seriously threatening the person.”
“You can make that vaccine, that mRNA vaccine, you can make that robotically, again using AI, in about 48 hours,” he explained. “So imagine early cancer detection, the development of a cancer vaccine for your particular cancer, aimed at you, and have that vaccine available in 48 hours. This is the promise of AI and the promise of the future.”
