MRK · News · 20260819N

Melanoma Vaccine Collaboration

Merck & Co., Inc. · 2026-08-19 · Importance 34 · Surprise 42 · In source text

Merck and Moderna reported positive topline results from the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial of intismeran autogene combined with KEYTRUDA in patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma. The regimen met the trial’s primary recurrence-free survival endpoint and secondary distant metastasis-free survival endpoint versus KEYTRUDA alone. The companies plan to present full data, including additional durability and safety information, at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in October 2026 and engage regulators regarding potential approval filings. The result strengthens Merck’s oncology pipeline and may help offset the commercial impact of KEYTRUDA’s expected patent expiration in 2028, although manufacturing scalability and overall-survival data remain to be assessed.

Key facts

Merck and Moderna plan to present the full INTerpath-001 trial data and engage with regulators for potential approval filings. source
Merck announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial evaluating adjuvant treatment with intismeran autogene (intismeran; V940 or mRNA-4157) in combination with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) and that the trial met endpoints of Recurrence-Free Survival (RFS) and Distant Metastasis-Free Survival (DMFS) in patients with completely resected Stage IIB-IV melanoma. source
Merck stock reached a new 52-week high of $137.98 during trading on Wednesday and closed at $135.3360, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share. source
Merck said the intismeran plus KEYTRUDA regimen met both the primary endpoint (recurrence-free survival) and a key secondary endpoint (distant metastasis-free survival) in high-risk melanoma patients in the Phase 3 study. source
Merck and Moderna said the investigational individualized neoantigen therapy intismeran (also described as V940 or mRNA-4157) is being jointly developed by Merck and Moderna and was evaluated in the INTerpath-001 Phase 3 trial in combination with Merck's KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab). source

Impact estimates

metric	direction	stage	expected	basis
revenue	positive	probable	—	Merck and Moderna plan to present the full INTerpath-001 trial data and engage with regulators for potential approval filings.