--- title: 'Life Sciences Daily Summary: What Happened on October 23, 2026' headline: Melanoma vaccine cuts recurrence or death risk by 42% description: Lycia priced a $318 million IPO, and AbbVie’s lutikizumab met its Phase 3 endpoint with a modest placebo-adjusted response. url: https://thebench.bio/news/summaries/2026-10-23 topic: all date: '2026-10-23' covers: - '2026-10-23' date_published: '2026-10-23T12:05:21Z' date_modified: '2026-10-23T12:05:21Z' tags: - Clinical - Industry - Funding - Regulatory sources: 10 publisher: TheBench.Bio --- # Life Sciences Daily Summary: What Happened on October 23, 2026 **Melanoma vaccine cuts recurrence or death risk by 42%** Lycia priced a $318 million IPO, and AbbVie’s lutikizumab met its Phase 3 endpoint with a modest placebo-adjusted response. ## Today in brief Adding Moderna and Merck’s personalized cancer vaccine to Keytruda after melanoma surgery lowered recurrence or death risk by 42% in a Phase 3 trial. [1] Tango Therapeutics said its experimental drug and Rasonque shrank tumors in 82% of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. [2] In AbbVie’s Phase 3 hidradenitis suppurativa trial, lutikizumab met the primary endpoint, with responses in 31.4% of participants versus 23.4% on placebo. [3] Lycia priced a $318 million IPO to fund three protein-degrading medicines, while the UK authorized Icotyde for eligible people with plaque psoriasis aged 12 and older. [4] [5] ## Melanoma vaccine cut recurrence or death risk by 42% Moderna and Merck’s personalized mRNA vaccine intismeran autogene reduced melanoma recurrence or death risk by 42% when added to Keytruda in a Phase 3 trial. [1] The result was statistically significant, with a hazard ratio of 0.58 and a p-value below 0.001. [1] The vaccine is tailored to mutations found in each patient’s tumor. [6] The trial did not compare the regimen with approaches that start immunotherapy before surgery. [1] Whether the clinical benefit justifies the cost and manufacturing demands of a personalized treatment remains a commercial question. [1] ## Tango combination produced tumor responses in 82% of patients Tango Therapeutics said 82% of patients with a particular form of advanced pancreatic cancer had tumor responses after receiving its experimental drug with Revolution Medicines’ Rasonque. [2] At nine months, 88% of patients were alive without their tumors progressing. [2] The reported trial regimen did not include chemotherapy. [2] ## Lutikizumab met its endpoint, with an eight-point response gap AbbVie’s lutikizumab met the primary endpoint in the Phase 3 INTREPID trial for hidradenitis suppurativa, a chronic inflammatory skin disease. [3] At week 16, 31.4% of participants taking lutikizumab had at least a 75% reduction in inflamed bumps and abscesses, compared with 23.4% on placebo. [3] [7] The trial enrolled 1,400 people with moderate-to-severe disease. [7] Leerink analysts said the roughly eight-percentage-point advantage fell short of their expected 17% to 20% range, raising uncertainty about the IL-1 pathway and whether mid-stage results will hold up in late-stage testing. [3] AbbVie said the drug met eight secondary endpoints, including measures of pain and flares, and that adverse-event rates were similar between groups. [7] ## Lycia prices $318 million IPO for three drug programs Lycia priced its initial public offering at $318 million. [4] The proceeds are intended to support three protein-degrading medicines in development for allergic conditions and Graves’ disease. [4] ## UK authorizes Icotyde for plaque psoriasis from age 12 The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorized Icotyde, or icotrokinra hydrochloride, for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults and adolescents aged 12 or older who weigh at least 40 kilograms and are candidates for systemic therapy. [5] Four Phase 3 trials involving about 2,500 people, including 72 adolescents, supported the authorization, and all four showed efficacy against placebo at week 16. [5] Icotyde blocks the IL-23 receptor, and the recommended dose is one 200-milligram tablet daily. [5] The agency said it will continue monitoring the medicine’s safety. [5] ## Gilead pays $1.275 billion upfront for PepStar’s oral IL-23 program Gilead agreed to pay PepStar $1.275 billion upfront for worldwide rights to its oral IL-23 receptor inhibitor program, including Phase 1 candidate HCXT-2001. [8] Gilead is prioritizing development for inflammatory bowel disease but has not specified target indications. [8] Gilead chief medical officer Dietmar Berger said HCXT-2001’s extended half-life could distinguish it and that Gilead sees potential to use it alone or with emvistegrast as a daily oral treatment. [8] Emvistegrast, an integrin inhibitor in mid-stage development for inflammatory bowel disease, met its primary endpoint in a Phase 2 ulcerative colitis study. [8] ## Celltrion licenses Kaigene antibody in deal worth up to $580 million Celltrion secured exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to Kaigene’s investigational antibody KG013 in a deal worth up to $580 million. [9] The package includes upfront and milestone payments, with royalties separate, and Kaigene may co-market the drug in South Korea. [9] KG013 targets APRIL, a signaling protein involved in plasma-cell survival and antibody production, and is designed to reduce harmful IgA and IgM antibodies. [9] Kaigene said it plans to pursue IgA nephropathy first, a disease its chief executive said affects about 160,000 diagnosed people in the United States. [9] ## Menarini licenses preclinical cancer candidate for $45 million upfront Menarini licensed worldwide rights to Georgiamune’s preclinical oral immunotherapy candidate GIM-621 for $45 million in upfront and near-term payments. [10] Milestone payments could raise the deal’s value to $1.1 billion, with royalties also payable. [10] The companies described GIM-621 as a small molecule intended for cancers that resist or stop responding to existing immunotherapies. [10] ## The day in numbers - **42%**: Reduction in melanoma recurrence or death risk when Moderna and Merck’s vaccine was added to Keytruda. [1] - **82%**: Share of patients with tumor responses to Tango’s experimental combination for advanced pancreatic cancer. [2] - **$318 million**: Value of Lycia’s priced IPO. [4] - **$1.275 billion**: Upfront payment Gilead agreed to make for PepStar’s oral IL-23 program. [8] ## Sources 1. [Moderna’s melanoma vaccine data bring adoption test into focus](), BioCentury, 2026-10-23 2. [STAT+: Tango reports 82% tumor response rate in trial of combo therapy for advanced pancreatic cancer](), STAT Biotech, 2026-10-23 3. [AbbVie’s skin disease drug posts Phase III win as market competition heats up ](), Clinical Trials Arena, 2026-10-23 4. [Protein degrader specialist Lycia prices $318M IPO](), BioPharma Dive, 2026-10-23 5. [MHRA approves new oral treatment for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis](), MHRA, 2026-10-23 6. [STAT+: Detailed data confirm Moderna and Merck cancer vaccine met key endpoints in melanoma trial](), STAT Biotech, 2026-10-22 7. [STAT+: AbbVie skin disorder drug succeeds in late-stage trial, but results miss market expectations ](), STAT Biotech, 2026-10-22 8. [Gilead spends $1.28bn on PepStar’s potential Icotyde rival ](), Pharmaceutical Technology, 2026-10-23 9. [Celltrion and Kaigene sign $580m licence deal for KG013](), Pharmaceutical Technology, 2026-10-23 10. [Menarini adds Georgiamune’s oral immunotherapy candidate to its solid-tumor portfolio for $45M upfront](), European Biotechnology, 2026-10-23 --- TheBench.Bio wrote this from the reporting cited above, with a language model drafting and editing. [1]: [2]: [3]: [4]: [5]: [6]: [7]: [8]: [9]: [10]: