By: Robert Langreth, Madison Muller
The announcement by Moderna Inc. and Merck & Co. that a messenger RNA-based cancer vaccine had lowered the recurrence rate for melanoma in a final-stage trial is a watershed moment for cancer vaccine research. It’s the first time that an mRNA-based cancer vaccine has succeeded in a large-scale study. While the companies didn’t disclose details about the results, the success has bolstered hopes that mRNA-based shots could someday play a broad role in fighting one of the world’s leading causes