Tracking Therapeutic & Preventive Cancer Immunotherapy Vaccines
Updated July 2026. Cancer vaccines represent a paradigm shift in oncology, harnessing the immune system to fight cancer. Unlike traditional vaccines that prevent infectious diseases, most cancer vaccines are therapeutic (treating existing cancer) rather than preventive. Two vaccines are FDA-approved: Provenge (sipuleucel-T) for prostate cancer and T-VEC (talimogene laherparepvec) for melanoma. The field has exploded with personalized mRNA vaccines tailored to individual tumors, neoantigen vaccines targeting tumor-specific mutations, and combinations with checkpoint inhibitors. BioNTech, Moderna, and Gritstone are leading personalized vaccine development for melanoma, pancreatic, and lung cancers. This tracker monitors both therapeutic vaccines (treating cancer) and preventive vaccines (like HPV vaccine preventing cervical cancer).
Developer: Dendreon Pharmaceuticals
Platform: Autologous cellular immunotherapy (dendritic cell vaccine)
Target: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer
Mechanism: Patient's immune cells are collected, exposed to prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) antigen, activated, and reinfused to stimulate immune response against prostate cancer cells
Efficacy: 4.1 month median survival benefit in Phase 3 trial. First therapeutic cancer vaccine approved by FDA.
Administration: Three infusions over one month. Personalized to each patient.
Status: Approved and available, though high cost (~$93,000) limits widespread use.
Developer: Amgen
Platform: Oncolytic virus therapy (modified herpes simplex virus)
Target: Advanced melanoma (unresectable stage IIIB-IV)
Mechanism: Genetically modified herpes virus injected directly into tumors, where it replicates in cancer cells, kills them, and releases antigens that stimulate systemic anti-tumor immunity
Efficacy: 16% objective response rate, improved durable response compared to GM-CSF
Administration: Direct intratumoral injection. Often combined with checkpoint inhibitors.
Developer: Moderna + Merck (KEYNOTE-942 program)
Platform: Individualized neoantigen therapy (INT) — lipid nanoparticle mRNA encoding up to 34 patient-specific tumor neoantigens identified via whole exome + RNA sequencing
Target: High-risk resected melanoma (stage IIB–IV), adjuvant setting
Innovation: Tumor is sequenced to identify patient-specific mutations (neoantigens); custom mRNA vaccine manufactured within 6–8 weeks; administered in combination with pembrolizumab (Keytruda).
Phase 2b 5-Year Data (ASCO 2026, June 1, 2026): KEYNOTE-942/mRNA-4157-P201 five-year follow-up (median 60.3 months) demonstrated intismeran autogene + Keytruda delivered a 49% reduction in risk of recurrence or death (RFS primary endpoint) and a 59% reduction in risk of distant metastasis or death compared to Keytruda alone. Exploratory analysis showed a 53% overall survival improvement (HR 0.471; 95% CI, 0.165–1.345). Published simultaneously in ASCO's Journal of Clinical Oncology. Safety: immune-related toxicities in ~45% of combination patients, but no grade 4/5 events reported; most common adverse events were fatigue, injection-site pain, and chills (grade 1–2).
Pivotal Program: Eight Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials are currently underway across melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, bladder cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. Pivotal Phase 3 melanoma readout expected 2026.
Significance: Sustained 5-year benefit is the strongest evidence to date that individualized mRNA cancer vaccines can meaningfully reduce recurrence, laying groundwork for the first approval of a personalized cancer vaccine.
Developer: BioNTech
Platform: Personalized mRNA vaccine encoding patient-specific neoantigens
Targets: Multiple solid tumors (melanoma, pancreatic, colorectal cancers)
Innovation: Manufacturing time reduced to 6-7 weeks. Can encode up to 20 neoantigens per patient.
Status: Phase 2 trials ongoing in combination with checkpoint inhibitors. Pancreatic cancer trial showed promising T-cell responses in preliminary data.
Developer: Johns Hopkins / Aduro Biotech
Platform: Whole-cell vaccine with GM-CSF
Target: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Mechanism: Irradiated pancreatic cancer cells engineered to secrete GM-CSF, stimulating dendritic cell activation
Status: Phase 2 trials in combination with checkpoint inhibitors and chemotherapy
Developer: OSE Immunotherapeutics
Platform: Peptide-based cancer vaccine
Target: Advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in HLA-A2+ patients
Mechanism: 10 optimized tumor-associated peptides designed to activate cytotoxic T cells
Status: Phase 3 trial (Atalante-1) in 2nd/3rd line NSCLC patients after checkpoint inhibitor failure
Developer: Gritstone bio
Platform: Prime-boost strategy using heterologous vectors (viral vector prime + mRNA boost)
Targets: Colorectal, gastric, and other solid tumors with microsatellite instability
Innovation: Uses AI to predict which neoantigens will generate strongest immune responses
Status: Phase 2 trials ongoing, particularly in MSI-high tumors
Developer: Center of Molecular Immunology, Cuba / Roswell Park (USA trials)
Platform: Therapeutic vaccine targeting epidermal growth factor (EGF)
Target: Advanced non-small cell lung cancer
Mechanism: Induces antibodies against EGF, blocking EGFR signaling pathway in tumors
Status: Approved in Cuba, Peru, Paraguay. Phase 3 trials in USA.
Developer: IMV Inc.
Platform: DepoVax lipid-based vaccine targeting survivin
Target: Ovarian cancer, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Mechanism: Targets survivin protein overexpressed in cancer cells
Status: Phase 2 trials in combination with checkpoint inhibitors
Developer: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute / Neon Therapeutics
Platform: Personalized peptide-based neoantigen vaccine
Targets: Glioblastoma, melanoma
Innovation: Up to 20 personalized neoantigens formulated as long peptides
Status: Phase 1 trials showed strong T-cell responses in glioblastoma patients
Developer: Ultimovacs
Platform: Peptide vaccine targeting telomerase (hTERT)
Targets: Prostate cancer, malignant mesothelioma, ovarian cancer
Mechanism: Telomerase is active in 85-90% of cancers but not normal cells, making it ideal target
Status: Phase 2 trials in multiple cancer types, often combined with checkpoint inhibitors
Developer: Immunovative Therapies
Platform: Allogeneic cellular immunotherapy (off-the-shelf immune cells)
Targets: Metastatic colorectal, ovarian, breast cancers
Innovation: Uses donor cells (not patient-specific), allowing immediate treatment
Status: Phase 2 trials in late-stage cancers
Cancer vaccines are entering a golden age driven by three breakthroughs: (1) Personalized medicine - sequencing individual tumors to create custom vaccines, (2) mRNA technology - rapid manufacturing of personalized vaccines within 6-8 weeks, and (3) Combination therapy - pairing vaccines with checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD-1, anti-CTLA-4) dramatically improves efficacy. The Moderna/Merck melanoma vaccine's 44% benefit represents a paradigm shift. Unlike infectious disease vaccines that prevent infection, cancer vaccines primarily treat existing disease by reactivating the immune system against tumors. The future involves: multi-cancer vaccines, AI-designed neoantigens, off-the-shelf allogeneic products, and combinations creating "cancer vaccination + immunotherapy" as standard of care.