Iovance’s Amtagvi® (lifileucel) Receives Health Canada Approval for Advanced Melanoma

On August 18, 2025 Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA), a commercial biotechnology company focused on innovating, developing, and delivering novel polyclonal tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies for patients with cancer, reported Health Canada has issued a Notice of Compliance with Conditions (NOC/c) for Amtagvi (lifileucel), a tumor-derived autologous T cell immunotherapy (Press release, Iovance Biotherapeutics, AUG 18, 2025, View Source [SID1234655338]). Amtagvi is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma that has progressed on or after at least one prior systemic therapy including a PD-1 blocking antibody, and if BRAF V600 mutation positive, a BRAF inhibitor with or without a MEK inhibitor, and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.

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"This approval in Canada is our first marketing authorization outside the U.S. and marks a significant step forward for Iovance as we prepare to introduce Amtagvi in countries with a high prevalence of advanced melanoma and address substantial unmet needs in solid tumor cancers," said Frederick Vogt, Ph.D., J.D., Interim Chief Executive Officer and President of Iovance. "We expect to authorize our first Canadian treatment center within the next few months, and we continue to advance our ex-U.S. strategy for Amtagvi in additional markets."

Market authorization in Canada under the NOC/c guidance was granted based on safety and efficacy results from the global, multicenter C-144-01 trial investigating Amtagvi in patients with advanced melanoma previously treated with anti-PD-1 therapy and targeted therapy, where applicable. The market authorization is conditional, pending the results of trials to confirm its clinical benefit.

About the C-144-01 Clinical Trial
C-144-01 is a global, multicenter Phase 2 study in which patients received treatment with lifileucel monotherapy. The study enrolled patients with metastatic melanoma who were previously treated with at least one systemic therapy, including a PD-1 blocking antibody, and if BRAF V600 mutation‑positive, a BRAF inhibitor or BRAF inhibitor with MEK inhibitor. Efficacy was established on the basis of objective response rate (ORR), and duration of response (DOR) by Independent Review Committee (IRC) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1. The detailed results of C-144-01 were published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer in 2022. A five-year analysis of C-144-01 was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2025.

Iovance is investigating Amtagvi in frontline advanced melanoma in the Phase 3 trial, TILVANCE-301 (NCT05727904), as well as in additional solid tumor types.