Merck & Moderna plan for vaccine phase 3 trial in 2023Big Pharma is rapidly proving-out and advancing the mRNA/oncolytic virus treatment space in combination with PD-(L)1 immune checkpoint inhibitors. ONCY has the advantage in that pelareorep is able to treat multiple solid tumors and not just intratumorally treated melanoma.
April 17, 2023 - (78.6%) with high-risk melanoma treated with mRNA-4157 in addition to Keytruda had recurrence-free survival at 18 months compared to 62.2% of patients in the comparator arm, which received Keytruda alone, according to new data presented at the 2023 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting.
Moderna’s is working with regulators on using the accelerated approval pathway.
The issue is Moderna's vaccine therapy is that it is individualized and cannot be scaled-up to treat a more addressable and larger population of patients, as ONCY's pelareorep is capable of achieving in meeting the objectives of "precision medicine".
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/aacr-merck-moderna-plan-registrational-cancer-vax-trial-years-end