Jordan Johnson։ INTerpath-001 Shows Improved Recurrence-Free Survival With Personalized mRNA Cancer Vaccine in Melanoma - Oncodaily
Merck and Moderna presented INTerpath-001 at ESMO 2026: in 1,137 patients with resected stage IIB–IV melanoma, Keytruda plus the individualized mRNA vaccine intismeran autogene showed improved recurrence-free survival versus Keytruda alone, per commentary from Bridge Oncology's Jordan Johnson carried by OncoDaily. The notable detail is timing — the arms looked the same during the first six months while patients were still being immunized, after which the hazard ratio dropped to 0.42, consistent with the time needed to build a T-cell response. A NEJM paper is accepted but not yet public, so treat the figures as preliminary to peer review. Nine intismeran trials are underway, including three phase 3s in lung cancer — the next test of whether a vaccine built from each patient's own tumor mutations can generalize beyond melanoma.