RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Guggenheim raises Merck US (MSD) to a buy on KeytrudaMerck originally paid $200 million upfront in an agreement for a series of personalized cancer vaccines (PCVs) including mRNA-4157 back in 2016. None of the other cancer vaccines have resulted in the same of degree of development as has the mRNA-4157 vaccine candidate. Merck exercising its license to take mRNA-4157 forward means Moderna is now set for an additional $250 million payout, while any profits from the asset if it reaches the market will be shared equally. MRNA-4157 aims to generate T-cell responses equivalent to those ONCY's pelareorep has been achieving.
The mRNA-4157-Keytruda combination doesn’t have a faultless clinical track record, having missed the mark in colorectal cancer but faring better in head and neck cancer in a small phase 1 study.
On the other Moderna vaccine candidate under agreement, Merck gave up on Moderna’s mutant KRAS vaccine mRNA-5671 shortly after Merck closed enrollment in a phase 1 trial.