First Potential Approval of an Individualized, One-Time Cell Therapy  for Patients with Advanced Melanoma

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA), a biotechnology company focused on innovating, developing, and delivering novel polyclonal tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies for patients with cancer,  announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted its Biologics License Application (BLA) for lifileucel for patients with advanced melanoma. The FDA granted lifileucel Priority Review and assigned November 25, 2023 as the target action date for a decision under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). The FDA is not currently planning to hold an advisory committee meeting to discuss this application and, after a preliminary review, has not at this time identified any potential review issues.

Lifileucel is a TIL therapy intended for patients with advanced melanoma who progressed on or after prior anti-PD-1/L1 therapy and targeted therapy, where applicable. There are no FDA approved therapies in this treatment setting. Under the FDA’s guidance, Priority Review allows for an six-month review from the time of BLA acceptance for treatments that, if approved, are substantially safer or more effective than standard of care therapies. The FDA also previously granted a Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation for lifileucel in advanced melanoma.

Frederick Vogt, Ph.D., J.D., Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Iovance, stated, “The BLA acceptance is a significant milestone in our mission to deliver lifileucel as the first individualized, one-time cell therapy for a solid tumor. The FDA’s commitment to a six-month Priority Review validates the unmet need and urgency for new treatment options for patients with advanced melanoma who have progressed on or after standard of care therapies. I am grateful for the patients and physicians who took part in all our clinical trials, as well as the Iovance team for their outstanding work on our first BLA filing. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the FDA during the BLA review cycle, while continuing to execute our pre-commercialization activities and advancing our robust TIL pipeline.”

The BLA submission for lifileucel is supported by positive data from the C-144-01 clinical trial in patients with advanced melanoma who progressed on or after prior anti-PD-1/L1 therapy and targeted therapy, where applicable. If lifileucel receives accelerated approval, the randomized Phase 3 TILVANCE-301 trial in frontline advanced melanoma can serve as the confirmatory study to support full approval. TILVANCE-301 is expected to be well underway at the time of approval.