“Moderna and Merck’s cancer vaccine reduced the risk of relapse or death for melanoma patients, five-year data from a Phase 2b trial showed.

The companies on Tuesday said the vaccine, in combination with Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda, reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 49% compared with Keytruda alone.

‘We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,’ said Kyle Holen, a senior vice president at Moderna.

The companies had previously released promising three-year data from the study, and on Tuesday they said the treatment ‘continued to demonstrate sustained and clinically meaningful improvement’ in reducing the risk of death and relapse.

The companies currently have eight Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials across multiple tumor types, including melanoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, bladder cancer and renal cell carcinoma.”

From Wall Street Journal.