{"id":801559,"date":"2026-10-13T19:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T19:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/801559\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T19:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T19:56:13","slug":"cancer-vaccine-trial-results-raise-hard-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/801559\/","title":{"rendered":"Cancer vaccine trial results raise hard questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Merck and Cambridge-based Moderna reported in August that adding their mRNA cancer vaccine to an existing treatment slowed the return and spread of melanoma. The field had been waiting \u201cwith bated breath\u201d for the news on the drug, called intismeran autogene, said Karen Knudsen, the CEO of the Parker Institute, the research organization founded by tech entrepreneur Sean Parker<\/a>. The results suggested that the idea of using messenger RNA to train the immune system to attack cancer cells \u2014 an approach first devised decades ago \u2014 was ripe for further drug development. <\/p>\n

Just days later, however, the German drugmaker BioNTech and its partner Genentech ended a mid-stage study of its colorectal cancer vaccine<\/a>. After carefully studying the early data coming in from the trial, it had become evident that the treatment wasn\u2019t working. <\/p>\n

Now, as the field waits for Moderna and Merck to present detailed data at a European oncology meeting next month, it is wrestling with questions about what to make of the divergent outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the really big question is: Why does Moderna have good data in melanoma and BioNTech, I guess, doesn\u2019t have good data in colon cancer?\u201d asked Jason Luke, a physician and clinical trial investigator who joined mRNA company Strand Therapeutics last year. <\/p>\n

When BioNTech reported its trial failure, Wall Street analysts like Cowen\u2019s Yaron Werber were quick to point out a possible explanation: The company had made the bold choice of testing its cancer vaccine in a \u201ccold\u201d tumor, industry shorthand for one that can be difficult for immune cells to penetrate. Colorectal cancer is notoriously immune-resistent. Melanoma, on the other hand, is a more hospitable environment for immune cells. <\/p>\n

Personalized cancer vaccines<\/a>, like intismeran and BioNTech\/Genentech\u2019s autogene cevumeran, are designed to rally the immune system. These drugs use mRNA to create specific, mutated proteins from a patient\u2019s tumor called antigens that provoke the immune system, like a \u201cwanted\u201d poster for the cancer. In the case of autogene cevumeran, even if the vaccine had plastered signs around the body to warn of colorectal cancer, the tumor may have still been able to resist attacks. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a natural theory. But it\u2019s far too early to draw any conclusions, said Georgina Long, an oncologist and medical director of the Melanoma Institute Australia.<\/p>\n

Long has worked with BioNTech and Moderna on cancer vaccines, as well as startup Strand, which is developing treatments that use mRNA to produce a specific type of immune cell to attack cancer cells. <\/p>\n

There are signs that intismeran, in particular, can work in patients with \u201ccolder\u201d tumors, Long said. During their Phase 2 trial, Merck and Moderna collected reams of data, including information on how subjects with different levels of immune system markers fared. Although melanoma has long been classified as a \u201chot\u201d tumor, on an individual basis, patients can have a wide range of immune responses. Some melanoma patients can still have low levels of immune activity.<\/p>\n

In the supplemental data<\/a>, patients with a lower level of the immune marker PD-L1 appeared to benefit more from adding intismeran to their treatment. <\/p>\n

Comparing the recent trials of intismeran and autogene cevumeran is like comparing apples to oranges, researchers and drug developers said. Intismeran was given alongside the drug Keytruda, which overrides cancer cells\u2019 blockades against immune cells and has proven highly effective in dozens of cancers. Autogene cevumeran was given as a standalone treatment. The fact that the trials produced different outcomes could simply mean the current generation of drugs doesn\u2019t work as well alone.<\/p>\n

BioNTech is currently testing whether adding autogene cevumeran to other treatments will help patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, another \u201ccold\u201d tumor. BioNTech said in a statement that the decision to shut down the colorectal cancer trial doesn\u2019t impact the pancreatic cancer trial. The latter trial is expected to wrap up in 2031. <\/p>\n

Strand, meanwhile, is testing how various cancers respond to mRNA treatments alone, even in patients for whom drugs like Keytruda haven\u2019t worked. <\/p>\n

The company\u2019s approach notably differs from that of cancer vaccine developers: Its medicines use mRNA to spur production of an immune protein called interleukin-12. It\u2019s not generating a \u201cvaccine\u201d against the tumor, set off by specific tumor antigens, as cancer vaccine companies are doing. <\/p>\n

The \u201clow-hanging fruit\u201d in developing this first generation of mRNA medicines for oncology is to start where immunotherapy drugs like Keytruda have worked, said Luke, the Strand executive.<\/p>\n

The Boston startup has shown promising results in melanoma and recently started an early-stage trial in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, among other cancers. <\/p>\n

Beyond Strand, there have been promising early-stage trials of therapies for some difficult-to-treat \u201ccold\u201d cancers, including glioblastoma<\/a> and pancreatic cancer<\/a>. The Parker Institute is also working with cancer startup Medici Therapeutics, which is planning a merkel cell carcinoma trial.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Merck and Cambridge-based Moderna reported in August that adding their mRNA cancer vaccine to an existing treatment slowed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-801559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}