Moderna to present Phase 3 cancer vaccine data at ESMO

Moderna ↗ 5.56% announced on Monday that late-breaking Phase 3 data for its personalized mRNA cancer therapy, intismeran autogene, will be presented at a Presidential Symposium during the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2026 in Madrid. The presentation is scheduled for Saturday, October 24, and will be accompanied by a live investor webcast.tradingview+1

The company said three abstracts on intismeran autogene have been accepted at ESMO, covering Phase 3 studies in melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer as well as a Phase 1 study in pancreatic cancer. The data build on positive topline results from the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial announced by Merck ↗ 0.94% and Moderna in August 2026.stocktitan

A First for Personalized Cancer Vaccines

The INTerpath-001 trial enrolled 1,137 patients with completely resected stage IIB through IV cutaneous melanoma. At a pre-specified interim analysis, intismeran combined with Merck's pembrolizumab (Keytruda) demonstrated statistically significant improvements in both recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival compared with pembrolizumab alone. It marked the first positive Phase 3 readout for any individualized neoantigen therapy built on mRNA technology.ajmc+2

The result followed five-year follow-up data from the earlier Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 trial, presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, which showed a 49% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death and a 59% reduction in the risk of distant metastasis or death with the combination versus pembrolizumab alone.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih+1

Broad Oncology Ambitions

Moderna and Merck now have nine Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials underway investigating intismeran across multiple tumor types. The therapy encodes up to 34 patient-specific neoantigens identified from an individual's tumor, designed to generate a targeted immune response tailored to each patient's mutational profile. Intismeran holds FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for adjuvant treatment of high-risk melanoma following complete surgical resection.prnewswire+1

Bloomberg Intelligence has estimated up to $12 billion in non-risk-adjusted peak sales by 2040 in a best-case scenario, compared with roughly $5.4 billion on a risk-adjusted basis. The broader cancer therapeutic vaccines market was valued at approximately $335 million in 2025 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 36% through 2036, according to a DelveInsight report published Monday.bloomberg+1

What Comes Next

The ESMO Congress runs October 23–27 in Madrid. Georgina V. Long of Sydney is listed as the presenter for the melanoma data at the Presidential Symposium. Moderna said the October 24 webcast will discuss further developments in its oncology research program. The therapy remains investigational, with no regulatory approval for melanoma to date.instalab+2