Insider Finance - Business - A vaccine for cancer

Matt Turner, December 14, 2022

Hello, Insiders. Matt Turner here, filling in for Nicholas Carlson. I’m the editor in chief of business, and write my own Sunday newsletter, going behind the scenes of our biggest stories. Sign up here!

Today, I want to talk about Avatar. I remember going to see the first movie way back in 2009. Thirteen years, a pandemic, and hundreds of millions of dollars later, the sequel opens Friday. Insider’s Jason Guerrasio has seen it, and says it’s an “astounding epic that needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.” Check out his review here. 

There’s a lot riding on this. Director James Cameron said it needs to make $2 billion just to break even. And that still might not be enough to save your local cinema. So are you planning to go see it? Let me know at insidertoday@insider.com. I’d love to hear from you. 

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The latest

• Sam Bankman-Fried is headed to a notorious Bahamian prison. Inmates have previously shared harrowing stories about the facility. Read more here. 

• The Trump Organization lost a secret one-day trial last year and was held in contempt of court. Here’s the full story.

• The Ukrainian army released a video telling Russians how to surrender to a drone. Watch it here.

The big story

Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald

A new vaccine could signal a major breakthrough in how we treat cancer.

Moderna said that its personalized cancer-vaccine program lowered the risk of death or skin-cancer recurrence in a study — a significant advance in the biotech company’s efforts to treat cancer. 

Patients with melanoma who got the vaccine in combination with Merck's cancer drug Keytruda had a 44% reduction in the rate of cancer recurrence and death, compared to those who just got Keytruda. Still, the results come from a midstage trial, and analysts say more research is needed.

Moderna famously scrambled to respond to the initial COVID-19 outbreak and developed a vaccine, which transformed the company into a drug industry powerhouse.

In an interview with Insider, Moderna's CEO Stéphane Bancel compared the cancer study results to that moment, saying: "Now we are an oncology company.”

"The enemy now is cancer,” he added. “We know the technology works." 

Read the full story here. 

Top reads

DEENA MOHAMED

• "I was a pro football player. I was tricked into going to Qatar to work in construction." Our Pulitzer Prize-winning comics team is back with the powerful story of Azeez Sulaiman. He traveled to Qatar to fulfill his dream of playing soccer, but found himself living in a cramped camp and doing manual labor, all for just $250 per month. See the story of how he became a fierce advocate for workers rights.

• "I'm an American mom living in Japan, and grocery shopping here is a far superior experience." Nickelle Tilley writes that she can now feed her family fresher foods made with higher-quality ingredients  — and for a more affordable price. See inside her local store.

• Six things to know before flying with Spirit Airlines. Insider’s Hannah Towey flew with the budget airline from Miami to NYC. She said the journey challenged her in every way possible, from no in-flight entertainment and terrible leg room to $4 water. Here’s what you give up for cheap fares.

• "Everything in my bedroom, and my insides and outsides, are completely coated in fiberglass." Influencer Cody Jacob told Insider he’d been experiencing mystery illnesses for most of the year — even his doctor was stumped. The culprit? An $800 mattress he'd purchased on Amazon. Read the full story.

• An executive involved in Amazon's "earth's best employer" initiative was recently investigated by the company. The inquiry comes after multiple employees alleged the executive created a hostile work environment, according to people familiar with the situation. Read Insider’s exclusive report here.

Watch this

Vanilla is one of the world's most expensive spices because it's so labor-intensive to grow. We headed to Madagascar to see how farmers are trying to protect their "green gold."

Today's team

This edition was curated by Matt Turner, and edited by Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan, Nathan Rennolds, and Jordan Parker Erb. Get in touch: insidertoday@insider.com.

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