Overview
- The Intercept‑Lynch phase‑1 trial is due to start this summer to evaluate safety, optimal dose and immune responses to the investigational mRNA‑4194 vaccine.
- mRNA‑4194 is designed to teach the immune system to recognise and destroy cells carrying the DNA errors linked to Lynch syndrome before they turn into cancer.
- The study specifically recruits people with Lynch syndrome, an inherited mismatch‑repair defect that affects about 1 in 300 people in England and greatly raises lifetime risk of bowel, womb and ovarian cancers.
- Moderna says this is its first mRNA programme explicitly aimed at cancer prevention and Cancer Research UK is backing the Oxford–Moderna collaboration.
- If phase‑1 results support progression, investigators plan a multicentre phase‑2 expansion across UK sites in 2027 and wider implications include needed work on boosters, screening strategies and ways to find the many carriers who are currently unaware of their status.