Iovance Biotherapeutics surges after historic cell therapy approval
Arctic Aurora LifeScience and Biotech Select holding Iovance appreciated 94% year to date including 72% after the approval of their cell therapy treatment in advanced skin cancer.
When a tumor develops, our immune system recognizes and attacks it. There is a select group of immune cells that are able to eliminate tumor cells. These cells are unique to each patient and each tumor. However, as cancer progresses, it evades these specific cells and they become depleted.
The core idea of Iovance's new therapy is to take these natural cancer-fighting immune cells from the patient, re-invigorate and expand them, and give them back to the patient so they can more effectively eliminate tumor cells.
On February 16, the FDA approved the first such drug, AMTAGVI, for advanced skin cancer, or melanoma, a disease that kills 8,000 people each year in the U.S. alone. The approval is based on a Phase 3 trial in which the therapy produced deep and durable responses in patients who had no other options. This makes AMTAGVI the first approved individualized cell therapy for solid tumors. AMTAGVI is also being tested in several other tumors, including cervical and lung cancer. Based on this positive news, sales of the drug are expected to reach USD 900 million by the end of the decade.
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