Moderna announced interim data from an ongoing Phase 1 clinical study of mRNA-2752 (Triplet) in patients with accessible solid tumours and lymphomas. The data showed that the company’s mRNA Triplet program given in combination with AstraZeneca’s durvalumab (IMFINZI) was tolerated at all dose levels tested and elicited evidence of anti-tumour activity. The recommended dose for expansion (RDE) is up to 8mg mRNA-2752 + durvalumab.

“We are encouraged by the interim data from our Triplet program, which combines three mRNAs into one therapy injected directly into the tumour. Our intratumoral mRNA technology allows for the delivery of mRNAs encoding for multiple proteins that act locally to modulate the tumour microenvironment, without systemic toxicity,” said Praveen Aanur, M.D., Vice President, Therapeutic Area Head for Oncology Development at Moderna. “These interim results demonstrate the potential role of immune modulation on clinical outcomes and we look forward to full results from the dose-expansion arm of the study.”

Presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's (SITC) 36th annual meeting, the study demonstrates evidence of immunomodulation and expected pharmacodynamics in the tumour immune microenvironment (TME) of both injected and un-injected lesions, in both monotherapy and combination cases, as indicated by increases in proliferating (activated) T cells, PD-L1 levels (marker of interferon signaling), and T cell-inflamed (GEP) and DC transcriptional signature score, with greatest changes observed in patients with clinical benefit.