{"id":74788,"date":"2022-10-12T11:15:05","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T11:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pr.asianetpakistan.com\/?p=99756"},"modified":"2022-10-12T11:15:05","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T11:15:05","slug":"merck-and-moderna-announce-exercise-of-option-by-merck-for-joint-development-and-commercialization-of-investigational-personalized-cancer-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kuwaitnewsgazette.com\/merck-and-moderna-announce-exercise-of-option-by-merck-for-joint-development-and-commercialization-of-investigational-personalized-cancer-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"Merck and Moderna Announce Exercise of Option by Merck for Joint Development and Commercialization of Investigational Personalized Cancer Vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Companies on track to report data from the ongoing Phase 2 trial of mRNA-4157\/V940 in combination with KEYTRUDA\u00ae as adjuvant therapy in high-risk melanoma in 4Q 2022<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

CAMBRIDGE, MA and RAHWAY, NJ \/ ACCESSWIRE \/ October 12, 2022 \/\u00a0<\/strong>Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, and Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that Merck has exercised its option to jointly develop and commercialize personalized cancer vaccine (PCV) mRNA-4157\/V940 pursuant to the terms of its existing Collaboration and License Agreement. mRNA-4157\/V940 is currently being evaluated in combination with KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, as adjuvant treatment for patients with high-risk melanoma in a Phase 2 clinical trial being conducted by Moderna.<\/p>\n

“We have been collaborating with Merck on PCVs since 2016, and together we have made significant progress in advancing mRNA-4157 as an investigational personalized cancer treatment used in combination with KEYTRUDA,” said Stephen Hoge, M.D., President of Moderna. “With data expected this quarter on PCV, we continue to be excited about the future and the impact mRNA can have as a new treatment paradigm in the management of cancer. Continuing our strategic alliance with Merck is an important milestone as we continue to grow our mRNA platform with promising clinical programs in multiple therapeutic areas.”<\/p>\n

Under the agreement,\u00a0originally<\/a>\u00a0established in 2016 and amended in 2018, Merck will pay Moderna $250 million to exercise its option for personalized cancer vaccines including mRNA-4157\/V940 and will collaborate on development and commercialization.\u00a0<\/strong>The payment will\u00a0<\/strong>be expensed by Merck in the third quarter of 2022 and included in its non-GAAP results. Merck and Moderna will share costs and any profits equally under this worldwide collaboration.<\/p>\n

“This long-term collaboration combining Merck’s expertise in immuno-oncology with Moderna’s pioneering mRNA technology has yielded a novel tailored vaccine approach,” said Dr. Eliav Barr, senior vice president and head of global clinical development, chief medical officer, Merck Research Laboratories. “We look forward to working with our colleagues at Moderna to advance mRNA-4157\/V940 in combination with KEYTRUDA as it aligns with our strategy to impact early-stage disease.”<\/p>\n

About mRNA-4157\/V940<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Personalized cancer vaccines are designed to prime the immune system so that a patient can generate a tailored antitumor response to their tumor mutation signature to treat their cancer. mRNA-4157\/V940 is designed to stimulate an immune response by generating T cell responses based on the mutational signature of a patient’s tumor.<\/p>\n

About KEYNOTE-942 (<\/u><\/strong>NCT03897881<\/strong><\/a>)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

KEYNOTE-942 is an ongoing randomized, open-label Phase 2 trial that enrolled 157 patients with high-risk melanoma. Following complete surgical resection, patients were randomized to mRNA-4157\/V940 (9 doses every three weeks) and KEYTRUDA (200 mg every three weeks) versus KEYTRUDA alone for approximately one year until disease recurrence or unacceptable toxicity. KEYTRUDA was selected as the comparator in the trial because it is considered a standard of care for high-risk melanoma patients. The primary endpoint is recurrence-free survival, and secondary endpoints include distant metastasis-free survival and overall survival. The Phase 2 trial is fully enrolled and primary data are expected in the fourth quarter of 2022.<\/p>\n

About KEYTRUDA\u00ae (pembrolizumab) Injection 100 mg<\/strong><\/p>\n

KEYTRUDA is an anti-programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) therapy that works by increasing the ability of the body’s immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells. KEYTRUDA is a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes which may affect both tumor cells and healthy cells.<\/p>\n

Merck has the industry’s largest immuno-oncology clinical research program. There are currently more than 1,600 trials studying KEYTRUDA across a wide variety of cancers and treatment settings. The KEYTRUDA clinical program seeks to understand the role of KEYTRUDA across cancers and the factors that may predict a patient’s likelihood of benefitting from treatment with KEYTRUDA, including exploring several different biomarkers.<\/p>\n

Selected KEYTRUDA<\/strong>\u00ae<\/sup><\/strong>\u00a0(pembrolizumab) Indications in the U.S.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Melanoma<\/em><\/p>\n

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.<\/p>\n

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult and pediatric (12 years and older) patients with stage IIB, IIC, or III melanoma following complete resection.<\/p>\n

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer<\/em><\/p>\n

KEYTRUDA, in combination with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy, is indicated for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations.<\/p>\n

KEYTRUDA, in combination with carboplatin and either paclitaxel or paclitaxel protein-bound, is indicated for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC.<\/p>\n

KEYTRUDA, as a single agent, is indicated for the first-line treatment of patients with NSCLC expressing PD-L1 [tumor proportion score (TPS) \u22651%] as determined by an FDA-approved test, with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations, and is:<\/p>\n