Its time to quit the “war on cancer

Todays big story, from Time, “Promising Results for mRNA Cancer Vaccine from Moderna and Merck:” In a release, the two companies report that people with melanoma who received intismeran, jointly developed by Moderna and Merck, and Merck’s pembrolizumab (Keytruda), lived longer without any recurrence of their cancer, as well as had fewer incidences of their cancer spreading, compared to those receiving Keytruda alone, which is the current standard treatment. Combining the two therapies seems to lead to better outcomes in this later-stage trial. Intismeran is not yet approved, while Keytruda was first approved to treat melanoma in 2014, and in 2019 to treat melanoma in people after tumors were removed. The current study included people in this latter group with stage 2 to stage 4 melanoma who were treated with either intismeran and Keytruda or Keytruda alone after surgeons removed the bulk of their tumors. Moderna stock surged 170% on this news, only to fall 25% the next day, giving up…