Pipettes are seen on the Moderna Therapeutics Inc. lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. Moderna this week began testing
Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Moderna and Merck will jointly develop and sell a cancer vaccine that’s personalized for individual patients, the businesses announced Wednesday.
Moderna’s vaccine, based on its messenger RNA technology, is being studied together with Merck’s Keytruda to treat patients with high-risk melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, in a phase two trial. The businesses expect to report data within the fourth quarter of this 12 months.
Moderna’s stock jumped 16% in morning trading.
Moderna’s vaccine is designed to trigger the immune system to deploy killer T cells that focus on the precise mutations of a patient’s tumors. Merck’s Keytruda is a monoclonal antibody, administered as an injection, that stops certain cell proteins from stopping T cells from occurring the attack.
The businesses originally entered the agreement in 2016, but Merck is now exercising its option through a $250 million payment to Moderna. Merck will collaborate on the event and commercialization of the product. The businesses will share all costs and profits equally.
Moderna became a household name through the pandemic after developing probably the most successful vaccines against Covid-19 in collaboration with the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
However the Covid vaccine is Moderna’s only commercially available product. The Boston biotech company is under growing pressure to exhibit how its messenger RNA technology might be deployed against other diseases.
Moderna expects $21 billion in Covid vaccine sales this 12 months because it rolls out latest booster shots that focus on the omicron variant.
Keytruda is Merck’s biggest drug, making up 35% of the corporate’s total sales within the second quarter. It has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat several several types of cancer.
