By Chris Wack


Moderna and Merck said they saw positive results from a Phase 2b study evaluating mRNA-4157 in combination with Keytruda in patients with high-risk skin cancer that was surgically removed.

With a median follow-up of 34.9 months, treatment with mRNA-4157 in combination with Keytruda continued to demonstrate a clinically meaningful and durable improvement in survival without the disease recurring, the primary endpoint of the study, and reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 49% compared with Keytruda alone.

The mRNA-4157 and Keytruda combination also continued to demonstrate a meaningful improvement in survival without the disease spreading to distant organs or lymph nodes, a key secondary endpoint of the study, compared with Keytruda alone. The combo reduced the risk of developing distant metastasis or death by 62%.

The safety profile with mRNA-4157 in combination with Keytruda remained consistent with the primary analysis. The most common adverse events attributed to mRNA-4157 in combination with Keytruda were fatigue, injection site pain, and chills.

Moderna and Merck have initiated studies of the drug combination, including Phase 3 studies in high-risk melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, as well as Phase 2 studies in renal cell carcinoma and urothelial carcinoma and a Phase 2/3 study for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.


Write to Chris Wack at chris.wack@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-03-24 0956ET