Merck, Moderna Expand Phase 3 Keytruda/V940 Combo Work

By Colin Kellaher

Merck and Moderna have launched a second late-stage study of the combination of Merck's blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda with V940, an individualized neoantigen therapy they are jointly developing.

The companies on Monday said the Phase 3 randomized clinical trial will evaluate the combination as adjuvant treatment in patients with certain types of resected non-small cell lung cancer.

Merck and Moderna, which previously launched a Phase 3 study of the combination in patients with resected high-risk melanoma, said they plan to continue expansion of the clinical development program for V940 to additional tumor types.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death around the world, with non-small cell lung cancer accounting for more than 80% of all cases.

Keytruda is a cancer drug that harnesses a patient's immune system to fight tumors, while individualized neoantigen therapies such as V940 are designed to train and activate an antitumor immune response by generating specific T-cell responses based on the unique mutational signature of a patient's tumor.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 11, 2023 07:26 ET (12:26 GMT)

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