A personalized mRNA cancer therapy passed Phase 3 for the first time
Moderna and Merck announced on August 19, 2026 that intismeran autogene, an individualized mRNA therapy, combined with Merck's Keytruda, met its primary endpoint in the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial. The trial covered 1,137 patients with surgically removed stage IIB-IV melanoma and showed significantly longer recurrence-free survival than Keytruda alone, plus a win on the key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival. Each dose is built from the mutations of that specific patient's tumor, encoding up to 34 targets per person. It is the first positive Phase 3 result for any individualized neoantigen therapy and for any mRNA-based cancer treatment. Moderna's stock rose about 10 percent.