AstraZeneca PLC Sponsored ADR (AZN.US) CEO hints at foray into cancer vaccines: mRNA technology has years of accumulation, more news expected within months

AstraZeneca PLC Sponsored ADR (AZN.US) is considering developing cancer vaccines, entering one of the hottest areas in oncology researchthough questions remain about the technology's scope of application. CEO Pascal Soriot told analysts at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) annual congress in Madrid that cancer vaccines have been a much-discussed topic within the company. He said, "Over the past few years, our R&D team has done a great deal of work on mRNA technology. We believe we can truly make a difference in this field, and you will hear more about it in the coming months and years." This is the first clear signal from the British drugmaker of its intention to pursue potential work in this area. Under Soriot's leadership, AstraZeneca PLC Sponsored ADR has become a giant in oncology. Personalized cancer vaccines are tailored to each patient's tumor, while non-personalized vaccines can be used to treat a broad population of patients with the same type of cancer. A personalized melanoma cancer vaccine jointly developed by Moderna and Merck reduced the likelihood of tumor recurrence by 42%, a result hailed by oncologists as a breakthrough. However, the results still disappointed investors. AstraZeneca PLC Sponsored ADR has experience in vaccineshaving co-developed a COVID-19 vaccine with partner Oxford Universitybut its main focus has been cancer and cardiometabolic disease drugs, as well as rare disease drugs. Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca PLC Sponsored ADR's oncology business unit, said in an interview on Saturday, "We have to compete in areas where we can win, and winning means being best-in-class, being first, and leveraging scale." "Today, in the field of personalized cancer vaccines, some other companies are better positioned to advance the relevant science more quickly," he said, but added that AstraZeneca PLC Sponsored ADR's infectious disease unit is interested in non-personalized vaccines. Although evidence proving the effectiveness of non-personalized cancer vaccines remains limited, researchers hope a hybrid approach may yield results. Data presented at the congress showed that personalized vaccines are effective against melanoma, but Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President of Oncology and Hematology R&D at AstraZeneca PLC Sponsored ADR, said she wants to see more data to verify whether the technology applies to a broader range of cancer types. Galbraith also said in the interview that she is cautious about the manufacturing complexity of personalized vaccines: "I think the cost and preparation timeline still mean that scaling it to a very large patient population will be a challenge."