Moderna And BioNTech Bet On Personalized Cancer Vaccines To Revive Fortunes After Dwindling COVID-19 Vaccine Sales

BioNTech SE BNTX and Moderna Inc MRNA are making strides in personalized cancer vaccines, leveraging the mRNA technology instrumental during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also Read: FDA Approves Updated COVID Vaccines From Pfizer And Moderna, But Leaves Out Novavax’s Shot.

These companies, whose stocks plummeted by about 80% since their 2021 pandemic peaks, are now focusing on cancer treatments to revive their fortunes.

The personalized approach, though promising, faces skepticism due to the high cost and difficulty of scaling production.

Miranda Payne, a melanoma specialist leading a Moderna trial at Oxford’s Churchill Hospital, expressed excitement about the potential but noted the challenges in making these vaccines widely available.

The Financial Times notes the high cost of sequencing each patient’s tumor and producing bespoke vaccines raises concerns about the feasibility of widespread application.

Moderna’s melanoma vaccine, developed in partnership with Merck & Co Inc MRK, is in advanced trials, while BioNTech’s product, co-developed with Roche Holdings AG’s RHHBY subsidiary Genentech, is being tested in an NHS trial.

Also Read: Moderna, Merck Reveal Three Year Data For Individualized Cancer Therapy In High-Risk Melanoma Patients.

Despite the optimism, experts caution that while the individual approach is exciting, the high costs and challenges of production make it uncertain whether these personalized vaccines will be scalable or affordable.

Uğur Şahin, CEO of BioNTech, emphasized the importance of innovation in personalizing mRNA vaccines, predicting that these treatments could be as impactful as existing immunotherapies by 2030.

Moderna is likely to bring its cancer vaccine to market first, focusing on lung and skin cancers. The company is also investing in new manufacturing facilities to improve production efficiency. BioNTech is taking a dual approach, developing personalized and off-the-shelf vaccines to address different cancer types.

As BioNTech and Moderna push forward, the cancer treatment landscape could be transformed, but the journey is fraught with obstacles.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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