Moderna (finally) shows data on its cancer vaccine

After years of deep stealth and billions in capitalization, Moderna Therapeutics finally has released some data. It’s early stage, to be sure, but the company’s personalized cancer vaccine — which was administered alone and in conjunction with Keytruda — appears to have helped the patient’s body recognize and attack the unique proteins populating the outside of tumor cells.

Moderna now will move on to kick off a Phase 2 trial with its partner, Merck, enrolling 150 patients with melanoma that’s been surgically removed. The idea here is to delay relapse.

Moderna’s cancer vaccine is tailor-made to an individual patient’s tumor. The entire manufacturing process, which involves tumor biopsy, genetic sequencing, vaccine building, and administration, takes about two months.