Moderna and Merck report trial results for personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine

Nature, Published online: 28 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02680-5A positive trial holds promise for treating people with cancer. More research is needed to get effective vaccines to the clinic.

Scientists are on the cusp of fulfilling a decades-long quest: to use vaccines to teach the immune system to spot and destroy cancer cells. News that an mRNA cancer vaccine developed by Merck & Co. and Moderna Inc. kept melanoma from returning in a large, late-stage trial marks a critical next chapter for a technology beleaguered by post-pandemic political backlash and years of false starts before then. The concept of cancer vaccines has been kicked around for over a century, and in the past 20 years, we’ve seen countless hopeful headlines about promising early-stage treatments. None of it panned out. Coaxing the body into fighting its own battles turned out to be a lot harder than it sounds. mRNA is finally moving the field beyond the “hope” and “promise” phase. Merck & Moderna’s Phase 3 study combining the personalized mRNA-based vaccine intismeran with the immunotherapy Keytruda is offering the evidence needed to prove that cancer vaccines really can work. There’s still plenty to do to show their potential extends beyond melanoma and into other kinds of cancer. But there

Moderna and Merck's wild gambit on a cancer vaccine appears to have worked, despite big doubts, logistical challenges, and pandemic-era complications.

Reuters reports "a major success in a new field of cancer treatment this week, as Moderna and Merck announced a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine "reduced the risk of recurrence and spread of melanoma in a late-stage trial". The vaccine was tested with Merck's widely used immunotherapy drug Keytruda: Thousands of patients who have undergone surgery to remove high-risk melanoma tumors could benefit as soon as next year if regulators approve the vaccine, Moderna President Stephen Hoge said in an interview. This is the first positive late-stage trial result for an mRNA cancer vaccine, which trains a patient's immune system to fight tumors by targeting specific mutations in those cells, and the first such study to show that adding a treatment to Keytruda worked better than that therapy alone... Interim results of the ongoing study, released on Wednesday, found the treatment, Intismeran, met both its primary target of reducing cancer recurrence and its secondary goal of preventing tumors from spreading to other parts of the body, compared with Keytruda alone. When the vaccine is injected into a patient, the patient's cells produce copies of mutations for the immune system to recognize and destroy... Merck said the companies are already in talks with regulators about the treatment. "Merck, Moderna and other companies are testing similar approaches against lung, breast and pancreatic cancers," the article points out. It adds that Karen Knudsen, CEO of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, "said the Moderna results could signal a new era for treating solid-tumor cancers." More from CNN: The trial result is "a monumental leap forward," validating mRNA technology as a cancer treatment, said Dr. Julie Gralow, chief medical officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology... Roche and BioNTech, whose mRNA technology was used in the Pfizer COVID vaccines, are testing a similar treatment called autogene cevumeran in mid-stage studies in colon and pancreatic cancer patients who have undergone surgery. Results of the colon cancer trial are expected in 2027, with pancreatic trial results to follow in 2031. "We should be hearing results from multiple studies over the next few years and there's every reason to hope now, with this news, that many of them will be positive," said Dr. Robert Vonderheide, director of Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center and president-elect of the American Association for Cancer Research. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Scientists are on the cusp of fulfilling a decades-long quest: to use vaccines to teach the immune system to spot and destroy cancer cells. News that an mRNA cancer vaccine developed by Merck & Co. and Moderna Inc. kept melanoma from returning in a large, late-stage trial marks a critical next chapter for a technology beleaguered by post-pandemic political backlash and years of false starts before then. Bloomberg Opinion Columnist Lisa Jarvis writes "Moderna and Merck's Cancer Vaccine Is a Marvel." (Source: Bloomberg)

The personalised vaccine has succeeded in a final-stage melanoma trial. Here’s how it works, when it could become available and why researchers hope the approach can be used against other cancers.

US drugmakers Merck and Moderna said Wednesday a personalised cancer treatment had shown success in reducing the recurrence of melanoma tumors in a late-stage trial hailed by experts as a "breakthrough." Researchers have for years been trying to apply mRNA treatments against cancer, but this was the first time such a drug showed positive results in a large, late-stage clinical trial.

The first positive results from an mRNA-based cancer therapy for melanoma have been announced by Merck and Moderna, signalling a potential breakthrough in treatment.

Merck and Moderna's mRNA cancer vaccine hit its Phase 3 trial endpoint, showing improved recurrence-free survival in melanoma patients after surgery.

People given the experimental vaccine with standard treatment lived longer without their cancer returning, the companies reported this week.

The experimental vaccine successfully reduced the recurrence of melanoma, the company said

Drug manufacturers Moderna and Merck say a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine plus a drug called Keytruda reduced the return and spread of melanoma in high-risk patients. Dr. Jon LaPook and trial researcher Dr. Janice Mehnert have more information.

Merck and Moderna announced a successful late-stage trial for a melanoma vaccine. NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Dr. Robert Vonderheide of Penn Medicine and the American Association for Cancer Research.

CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder, who has had melanoma herself, said Moderna's experimental trial is "a big win for mRNA vaccines against cancer."

Nature, Published online: 20 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02612-3Promising trial results suggest cancer vaccines work and could be used to target other tumours.

Moderna and Merck said on Wednesday that a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine reduced the risk of recurrence and spread of melanoma in a late-stage trial, a major success in a new field of cancer treatment that sent Moderna's shares surging as much as 160%.

Moderna and Merck said the personalised vaccine reduced the risk of recurrence and spread of melanoma in a late-stage trial, a major success in a new field of cancer treatment.

Moderna and Merck said the personalised vaccine reduced the risk of recurrence and spread of melanoma in a late-stage trial, a major success in a new field of cancer treatment.

Moderna and Merck said the personalised vaccine reduced the risk of recurrence and spread of melanoma in a late-stage trial, a major success in a new field of cancer treatment.

The combined drug works by nudging the body's own immune system to make proteins that attack and destroy melanoma cells

Moderna's mRNA vaccine Intismeran shows promise, reducing melanoma recurrence and spread in late-stage trials.

The shot, paired with Merck's Keytruda, cut the risk of melanoma recurrence in a trial of more than 1,100 patients.

A personalized vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck reduced the recurrence of melanoma in a large, late-stage trial, raising expectations for treating the deadliest form of skin cancer and showing the promise of the embattled mRNA technology. Madison Muller explains (Source: Bloomberg)

Pharmaceutical giants Moderna and Merck said that an experimental vaccine treatment has shown signs of preventing cancer from returning or spreading in a study of high-risk melanoma patients. NBC News health reporter Aria Bendix explains what happens next.

A personalized vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and Merck & Co. reduced the recurrence of melanoma in a large, late-stage trial, raising expectations for treating the deadliest form of skin cancer and showing the promise of the embattled mRNA technology. Bloomberg's Sam Fazeli joins to discuss. (Source: Bloomberg)

Moderna and Merck announced study results that reflect a "landmark moment" in treatment for one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer.

US pharmaceutical firms Merck and Moderna announced on Wednesday encouraging results from a trial of their experimental vaccine against melanoma, potentially clearing the way for approval. The vaccine, called intismeran autogene, showed “statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements” for skin cancer patients when used with Merck’s Keytruda treatment, the companies said in a statement. Unlike conventional vaccines, so-called therapeutic vaccines like intismeran treat rather...

An experimental personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine from Merck and Moderna was successful at preventing melanoma from returning or spreading in a late-stage trial of high risk patients, the companies announced Wednesday. The positive results mean a potentially life-extending treatment is one step closer to being available on the market. They also herald a significant and...

Both the FDA and the European Medicines Agency have placed the therapy on an expedited review pathway.

Shares of Moderna and Merck soared on Wednesday morning after a study showed that a vaccine they produced had promising results when it comes to fighting skin cancer. A late-stage trial showed that the mRNA vaccine helped reduce the recurrence of melanoma. Sam Fazeli of Bloomberg Intelligence has more. (Source: Bloomberg)

Merck and Moderna announced positive results from a large late-stage trial of their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, which significantly reduced the recurrence of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Madison Muller reports on "Bloomberg Open Interest." (Source: Bloomberg)

Pharmaceutical giants Moderna and Merck said that an experimental vaccine treatment has shown signs of preventing skin cancer from returning or spreading in a study of melanoma patients.

The mRNA-based vaccine combined with Keytruda reduced melanoma recurrence in more than 1,100 patients whose cancer had been surgically removed

Moderna shares soared on news of the interim results of the treatment, which combines a made-to-order mRNA vaccine with Merck’s Keytruda

The combination regimen significantly extended the time patients lived without their melanoma returning, compared with Keytruda alone.