From Inan18 Feb 2021 15:18
This article Highlights why Scancell is massive and why £8 is not unrealistic
It highlights what i have been saying for the last few years
it also highlights how difficult cancer vaccines are to Virus
in fact i could have written it ........... and probably have if you combine posts
hTTps://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/comment/moderna-biontech-covid-cancer-vaccines/
The remarkable speed at which both Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech were able to develop their highly efficacious Covid-19 vaccines has brought mRNA-based technology into the mainstream. Both Moderna and BioNTech have been developing mRNA-based vaccines for a range of conditions for many years, but currently, none of these have been approved. However, could their success in developing Covid-19 vaccines lead to a renewed enthusiasm for mRNA-based cancer vaccines?
Cancer vaccines have been in development for many years, but high-profile failures and limited results have meant there has not been a great deal of interest in this approach in recent years. However, following the success of the Covid-19 vaccines, investors may be much keener to back these technologies, both due to the demonstrated safety in a large cohort of patients, as well as the impressive efficacy of this approach. Furthermore, the considerable revenue both Moderna and BioNTech can expect from their Covid-19 vaccines means that these companies will have the funds needed for clinical trials.
While the mRNA-based vaccines against Covid-19 (and those in development for other infectious diseases) focus on prevention, cancer vaccines are designed to treat tumours by stimulating an immune response and are unlikely to be used as a stand-alone therapy. Moderna currently has two cancer vaccines in clinical trials (partnered with Merck); the most advanced of these, mRNA-4157, is a personalised vaccine that delivers neoantigens selected from the patient’s tumour and is being tested in a Phase II trial for the adjuvant treatment of melanoma and in a Phase I trial for the treatment of solid tumours, in both cases in combination with Merck’s Keytruda. Interim results from the Phase I trial appear promising, with an overall response rate of 50% in a small sample of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Meanwhile, BioNTech has several cancer vaccines in development and early-stage clinical trials. One, BNT111, is currently being tested in a Phase I trial in melanoma patients and is composed of four melanoma antigens. However, interim results were underwhelming. A second candidate from BioNTech in collaboration with Roche / Genentech is a personalised vaccine being tested in advanced melanoma patients in a Phase II trial in combination with Keytruda, with results expected later this year.
Despite the successes of these mRNA-based vaccines against Covid-19, cancer vaccines using similar technologies are still unlikely to be available for several years. Cancer vaccines are considerably more challen