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Inside Moderna and Merck’s cancer vaccine triumph
STAT • • business
Key Points:
- At a March 2023 leadership meeting, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel asked executives if they expected their experimental cancer vaccine to succeed, and none, including President Stephen Hoge, believed it at the time.
- Moderna and Merck recently announced that a study involving 1,137 volunteers showed the vaccine reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or spread after surgical removal.
- Despite promising results, skepticism remains among investors and some researchers who await more comprehensive data before fully endorsing the vaccine's efficacy.
- Moderna's cancer vaccine, intismeran autogene, has faced ongoing doubt and was considered a breakthrough that few initially believed in.
