Health and Healthcare

Melanoma Treatment Takes a Big Step Forward

AlexRaths / Getty Images

Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA) shares jumped on Friday after the firm announced results from its mid-stage metastatic melanoma study at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting. Specifically, the results are coming from Iovance’s Phase 2 lifileucel metastatic melanoma study.

Objective response rate as determined by an independent review committee was 35%, which aligns well with the investigator-assessed objective response rate of 36%. The median duration of response was not reached as assessed by the committee or investigators at 11.3 months of study follow-up. Median duration of response was not reached at a longer study follow-up of 12.8 months as assessed by investigator for 66 patients.

The study had an overall concordance rate of 89.4% between investigator assessment and independent review committee assessment.

The adverse event profile of lifileucel treatment in the C-144-01 study continued to be consistent with the underlying advanced disease and the profile of the lymphodepletion and IL-2 regimens.

Maria Fardis, Ph.D., MBA, president and CEO of Iovance Bio, commented:

We are pleased to see continued evidence of durability with lifileucel therapy as patients are evaluated with longer term follow-up. In addition, concordance between IRC assessment and investigator reported results is highly favorable in this metastatic disease setting as compared with the published literature. These results continue to show that lifileucel offers a potential therapeutic option for the metastatic melanoma patients enrolled in this study. We continue to enroll patients in the pivotal cohort of the study, Cohort 4, which is expected to serve as the basis for an expected Biologics License Application (BLA) submission for lifileucel in late 2020.

Shares of Iovance traded up about 14% at $23.50, in a 52-week range of $7.26 to $26.59. The consensus price target is $34.50.


Take Charge of Your Retirement In Just A Few Minutes (Sponsor)

Retirement planning doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. The key is finding expert guidance—and SmartAsset’s made it easier than ever for you to connect with a vetted financial advisor.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Answer a Few Simple Questions. Tell us a bit about your goals and preferences—it only takes a few minutes!
  2. Get Matched with Vetted Advisors Our smart tool matches you with up to three pre-screened, vetted advisors who serve your area and are held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. Click here to begin
  3. Choose Your  Fit Review their profiles, schedule an introductory call (or meet in person), and select the advisor who feel is right for you.

Why wait? Start building the retirement you’ve always dreamed of. Click here to get started today!

 

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.

AI Portfolio

Discover Our Top AI Stocks

Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.

You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.