Merck Sharp and Dohme and Moderna announce new cancer alliance

Merck Sharp and Dohme has announced a new cancer research alliance with Moderna Therapeutics.

The strategic collaboration and license agreement will focus on the development and commercialisation of novel messenger RNA (mRNA)-based personalised cancer vaccines, utilising Moderna's mRNA vaccine technology to encode unique mutations present in specific patients' tumours.

Personalised vaccines of this kind have the ability to specifically activate an individual patient's immune system, working in tandem with checkpoint inhibitor therapies such as Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda.

Merck will make an upfront cash payment to Moderna of $200 million (148.8 million pounds), which Moderna will use to lead research and development efforts through to the proof of concept stage.

Dr Roger Perlmutter, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said: "We believe that working with Moderna to combine an immuno-oncology approach, using Keytruda, with mRNA-based personalised cancer vaccines may have the potential to transform the treatment of cancer."

This comes after Keytruda was recommended for European approval as a treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer earlier this week.