STAT+: Inside Moderna and Merck’s cancer vaccine triumph

At a Moderna off-site leadership meeting in March 2023, after mid-stage results for the company's cancer vaccine looked promising, CEO Stéphane Bancel asked the ~100 executives whether anyone had expected it to succeed. No one stood; Moderna president Stephen Hoge and Bancel both remained seated, with Hoge recalling, 'None of us believed it.' That skepticism reflected the world's view until last Wednesday, when Moderna and Merck announced results from a 1,137-volunteer trial.

The trial, studying the vaccine called intismeran autogene in patients with surgically removed melanoma, showed it reduced the odds that the cancer would return or spread. Up to that point, investors had been betting against Moderna's stock. Even after the announcement, some observers urge waiting for fuller data, and longtime skeptics of Moderna's mRNA technology remain cautious. The authors note that top-line results from large pharmaceutical firms are rarely reversed when full data emerge.