STAT+: Inside Moderna and Merck’s cancer vaccine triumph

STAT PlusSpecial Report Inside Moderna and Merck’s cancer vaccine triumph The drugmakers overcame rampant doubts, logistical challenges, and the pandemic Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Matthew Herper, Jason Mast, and Angus ChenAug. 24, 2026 Matthew Herper[email protected]Matthew Herper covers medical innovation — both its promise and its perils.Jason Mast[email protected]Jason is a general assignment reporter, with particular focus on genetic medicine and rare disease. Confidential tips can be sent on Signal at JasonMast.77.Angus Chen[email protected]Angus reports on the basic research, clinical science, and drug development that may transform survival and quality of life for patients, as well as developments affecting the cancer community.

You can reach Angus on Signal at angus.08. At an off-site leadership meeting held by Moderna in March 2023 — after mid-stage results of the biotech company’s cancer vaccine showed promise — CEO Stéphane Bancel had the floor. He asked if any of the 100 or so executives present had expected the experimental treatment to succeed.

If they did, he said, please stand up. Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president, was standing on stage. He sat down.

Then, Hoge recalled in an interview with STAT, Bancel sat down, too.Advertisement “None of us believed it,” Hoge said. It had taken time before he remembers feeling, “Oh my gosh. This is real.” The rest of the world remained skeptical until last Wednesday, when Moderna and Merck revealed that a 1,137-volunteer study had shown the vaccine reduced the odds that melanoma that had been surgically removed would return or spread.

Up to that point, investors were betting against Moderna’s stock. Even after the news, some observers argue researchers should wait for fuller data — while longtime skeptics of Moderna’s core mRNA technology do the same. Top-line results from large pharmaceutical firms are rarely reversed when full data emerge, but doubt is nothing new for Moderna’s cancer treatment, called intismeran autogene.

It has always been the breakthrough no one quite believed in. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and news alerts.

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2-10 Users $300 Annually per user $300/year Get Started $300 Annually per user View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe Log In biotechnology, Cancer, drug development, Merck, Moderna, Pharmaceuticals, STAT+ Submit a correction requestReprints Matthew Herper Senior Writer, Medicine, Editorial Director of Events Matthew Herper covers medical innovation — both its promise and its perils. Jason Mast General Assignment Reporter Jason is a general assignment reporter, with particular focus on genetic medicine and rare disease.

Confidential tips can be sent on Signal at JasonMast.77. Angus Chen Cancer Reporter Angus reports on the basic research, clinical science, and drug development that may transform survival and quality of life for patients, as well as developments affecting the cancer community. You can reach Angus on Signal at angus.08.

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