On May 8, 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 first quarter 2025 financial results and corporate updates (Press release, Iovance Biotherapeutics, MAY 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234652748]).
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Frederick Vogt, Ph.D., J.D., Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Iovance, stated, "During the start of the new year, our first quarter revenue was impacted by a significant reduction in capacity during the annual scheduled maintenance at the Iovance Cell Therapy Center (iCTC). Since full production has now resumed at the iCTC, we now expect infusions to grow in the second quarter as compared to the first quarter. Additionally, based on our experience to date, we are revising full-year 2025 revenue guidance to reflect recent launch dynamics. In the first 12 months of our U.S. launch, we have executed toward our long-term adoption goals by treating more than 275 Amtagvi patients and generating more than $210 million in revenue. Beyond the U.S. launch, we are on track this year for potential Amtagvi regulatory approvals in three new ex-U.S. markets as well as a clinical data update from our registrational trial in non-small cell lung cancer."
First Quarter 2025 Financial Results, Corporate Guidance, and Updates
Product Revenue and Guidance
First Quarter 2025 Total Product Revenue: Iovance recognized total revenue of $49.3 million from sales of Amtagvi and Proleukin during the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.
1Q25 Amtagvi Revenue: Product revenue from U.S. Amtagvi sales was $43.6 million, impacted by a reduction in capacity during annual scheduled maintenance at the iCTC. Production has resumed enabling full capacity for infusions in the second quarter 2025. Iovance currently anticipates infusing between 100 and 110 commercial patients in the second quarter.
1Q25 Proleukin Revenue: Product revenue also included $5.7 million in Proleukin sales, primarily reflecting clinical and manufacturing use after stocking at major U.S. wholesalers in 2024. Significant orders are expected in the current quarter. Proleukin is used in the Amtagvi treatment regimen and other commercial, clinical, manufacturing, and research settings, which provide additional revenue.
Amtagvi Growth Potential at U.S. ATCs in 2025: As of today, Iovance’s treatment network of more than 80 ATCs includes an initial wave of 70 ATCs and more than 10 ATCs in process to become a second wave. Fifty-six ATCs completed tumor resections, 48 infused one or more patients, and 11 infused more than 10 patients. These trends highlight growing adoption and significant growth potential. Several new ATCs are expected to treat their first patients in the remaining weeks of the second quarter of 2025.
Full Year 2025 Total Product Revenue Guidance: Iovance is revising total product revenue guidance within the range of $250 to $300 million in the first full calendar year of Amtagvi sales. The updated forecast considers experience with ATC growth trajectories and treatment timelines for new ATCs. Beyond ATCs, large community practices are expected to expand market opportunity. Amtagvi adoption will accelerate in 2025 with broader utilization and higher demand. Proleukin sales are also expected to accelerate throughout the remainder of 2025 with restocking to U.S. distributors and sales growth to manufacturers and for other clinical and manufacturing uses. Iovance expects significant growth in total product revenue for full year 2026 and beyond. Gross margins are expected to increase over time and remain on track to surpass 70% over the next several years.
Full Year 2025 Expense Guidance and Cash Position: As of March 31, 2025, Iovance had cash, cash equivalents, investments, and restricted cash of approximately $366 million. The current cash position and anticipated product revenue are expected to be sufficient to fund current and planned operations, including manufacturing expansion, into the second half of 2026. Cash burn for full year 2025 is expected to remain in line with prior guidance of less than $300 million, with a strong focus on optimizing spending and reducing expenses throughout the organization, including flat operating expenses related to Amtagvi manufacturing headcount expansion for the latter half of 2025.
Macroeconomic and Geopolitical Trends: Iovance is well-positioned to operate in the current macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. Amtagvi manufacturing and intellectual property are fully located in the U.S., providing a strategic advantage within the biopharma industry. All of Iovance’s investigational TIL products are manufactured in the U.S.
Amtagvi (Lifileucel) U.S. Launch Highlights in Advanced Melanoma
The U.S. FDA approved Amtagvi (lifileucel) on February 16, 2024, as the first treatment option for patients with advanced melanoma after anti-PD-1 and targeted therapy. Amtagvi is the first FDA-approved T cell therapy for a solid tumor indication.
More than 80 U.S. ATCs have joined or are about to join our network across 35 states and 95% of addressable patients live within 200 miles of an ATC. Additional U.S. ATCs will be added steadily throughout 2025, focusing on quality ATCs with a high volume of eligible patients, including large community practice ATCs.
Community referral activities are accelerating rapidly throughout the U.S. to drive additional patient volume to the ATCs. Large community practices are currently onboarding, creating a new and significant opportunity for more patients to receive Amtagvi quickly after frontline therapy.
Manufacturing turnaround time is aligning with launch expectations of approximately 34 days from inbound to return shipment to ATCs. Iovance expects to shorten the manufacturing turnaround time in 2025. The overall commercial manufacturing experience remains consistent with prior clinical experience.
Amtagvi is a preferred second-line or subsequent therapy in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for treatment of cutaneous melanoma.
Reimbursement remains successful, with an average financial clearance time of about three weeks.
Approximately 75% of Amtagvi patients are covered by private payers. To date, payers or plans covering more than 250 million lives have added Amtagvi to policies since its launch.
Launch Expansion into New Markets
Amtagvi has the potential to address more than 30,000 patients annually with previously treated advanced melanoma across the U.S. and initial global markets with significant populations of previously treated advanced melanoma patients.¹
Regulatory dossiers are under review, submitted, or planned across multiple international markets for lifileucel for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma after anti-PD-1 and targeted therapy. If approved, lifileucel will be the first and only approved therapy in this treatment setting in all markets.
Amtagvi has the potential to be approved in three new markets in 2025, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and all EU member states. Recently, the iCTC and Iovance’s contract manufacturer successfully completed regulatory inspections by the European Medicines Agency.
Fifteen ATCs are targeted by year-end to support initial launch markets outside the U.S.
Named patient programs are planned outside the U.S. to provide early access to treatment prior to national reimbursement and are also expected to provide initial revenue from these markets.
Additional regulatory submissions remain on track for Australia in the first half of 2025 and Switzerland in the second half of 2025.
Recent Iovance TIL Cell Therapy Pipeline Highlights
Lifileucel in Frontline Advanced Melanoma
Strong momentum continues with global site activation and patient enrollment in the registrational TILVANCE-301 trial, which is intended to support U.S. approval of Amtagvi in combination with pembrolizumab in frontline advanced melanoma, and full approval in post-anti-PD-1 melanoma.
Cohort 1D in the IOV-COM-202 trial is investigating lifileucel in combination with nivolumab and relatlimab in frontline advanced melanoma.
Lifileucel in Previously Treated Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Iovance remains on track to share additional data in the second half of 2025 from the IOV-LUN-202 registrational Phase 2 trial in post-anti-PD-1 NSCLC.
The IOV-LUN-202 trial is intended to support a potential accelerated approval of lifileucel in post-anti-PD-1 NSCLC in the U.S., with an anticipated regulatory decision in 2027. The FDA previously provided positive regulatory feedback on the proposed potency matrix in NSCLC and the IOV-LUN-202 clinical trial design.
Lifileucel in Frontline Advanced NSCLC
Iovance is pursuing a frontline therapy strategy to integrate lifileucel plus pembrolizumab following chemotherapy for patients with EGFR wild type NSCLC, representing most patients with an unmet medical need in this setting.
Cohorts 3D and 3E in IOV-COM-202 trial are investigating this regimen to inform a registrational and confirmatory trial design in frontline advanced NSCLC.
Lifileucel in Endometrial Cancer
Iovance is actively enrolling in the IOV-END-201 Phase 2 trial for advanced endometrial cancer, with initial results expected in the second half of 2025. The trial is investigating lifileucel after platinum-based chemotherapy and anti-PD-1 therapy regardless of mismatch repair (MMR) status, which represents a significant unmet medical need.
Next Generation TIL Pipeline
PD-1 Inactivated TIL Cell Therapy (IOV-4001): The Phase 2 efficacy portion of the IOV-GM1-201 trial continues to enroll patients to evaluate IOV-4001 in previously treated advanced melanoma and NSCLC. Iovance utilizes the TALEN technology licensed from Cellectis to develop IOV-4001 and other investigational gene-edited TIL cell therapies with multiple knockout targets to potentially improve efficacy.
Next Generation Interleukin-2 (IL-2) for TIL Treatment Regimen (IOV-3001): A Phase 1/2 clinical trial, IOV-IL2-101, is enrolling patients to investigate IOV-3001, a second-generation, modified IL-2 analog for use in the TIL therapy treatment regimen. Preclinical studies of IOV-3001 demonstrated the potential for improved safety with strong effector T cell expansion.
Next Generation, Cytokine-Tethered TIL Therapy (IOV-5001): IND-enabling studies are proceeding as planned for IOV-5001, a genetically engineered, inducible, and tethered interleukin-12 (IL-12) TIL cell therapy, in support of an IND in 2025 for clinical development for multiple indications.
Manufacturing Capacity Expansion
Iovance’s U.S.-based manufacturing network, consisting of the iCTC and an FDA-approved contract manufacturer, supplies clinical and commercial TIL cell therapies to patients globally.
The iCTC facility, representing the bulk of Amtagvi and clinical TIL product production, completed annual scheduled maintenance and successfully restarted full production.
The Iovance manufacturing network currently has staffed capacity for more than 1,300 patients annually and is built to serve several thousand patients annually with commercial Amtagvi and for clinical trials across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Expansion is currently underway at the iCTC facility to supply TIL cell therapies to more than 5,000 patients annually in the next few years, with additional expansion opportunities also in development.
Corporate Updates
Iovance currently owns approximately 280 granted or allowed U.S. and international patents and patent rights for Amtagvi and other TIL-related technologies that are expected to provide exclusivity through at least 2042. This patent portfolio covers TIL compositions and methods of treatment and manufacturing in a broad range of cancers, with Gen 2 patent rights expected to provide exclusivity for Amtagvi into 2038 and additional patent rights, including methods of treating melanoma and compositions and methods for potency assays, expected to provide exclusivity into 2039 and 2042, respectively. Iovance also owns an industry-leading patent portfolio covering TIL products produced with genetic engineering, using core biopsies and peripheral blood as starting material, and using combinations of TIL products with checkpoint inhibitors, as well as Iovance’s proprietary IovanceCares system. More information on Iovance’s patent portfolio is available on the Intellectual Property page on www.iovance.com.
First Quarter 2025 Financial Results
As of March 31, 2025, Iovance’s cash position is approximately $366 million. The current cash position and anticipated product revenue are expected to be sufficient to fund current and planned operations into the second half of 2026.
Net loss for the first quarter of 2025 was $116.2 million, or $0.36 per share, compared to a net loss of $113.0 million, or $0.42 per share, for the first quarter of 2024.
Revenue was $49.3 million for the first quarter of 2025 and consisted of product revenue from Amtagvi and Proleukin sales. Iovance recognized $43.6 million in revenue from Amtagvi infusions that were completed during the first quarter of 2025 and $5.7 million in global revenue for Proleukin. Revenue for the first quarter of 2024 was $0.7 million for global sales of Proleukin.
The increase in revenue in the first quarter 2025 over the prior year period was primarily attributable to the U.S. launch of Amtagvi, including revenue recognized for Amtagvi, as well as Proleukin revenue in the U.S.
Cost of sales includes inventory, overhead and related cash and non-cash expenses that are directly associated with sales of Amtagvi and Proleukin, as well as manufacturing costs for Amtagvi. Cost of sales for the first quarter 2025 was $49.7 million, which included $15.0 million for period costs associated with patient drop off and manufacturing success rates, $5.4 million for non-cash amortization expense for intangible assets and fair value mark up of inventory, and $1.3 million in royalties payable on product sales. For the first quarter 2024, cost of sales of $7.3 million was primarily related to non-cash amortization for intangible assets.
Increases in cost of sales in the first quarter over the prior year period were primarily attributable to costs associated with the initiation and growth of product sales, certain costs associated with patient drop off and manufacturing success rates, and related cash and non-cash expenses tied to the U.S. launch of Amtagvi that began during the first quarter of 2024.
Research and development expenses were $76.9 million for the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 4% compared to $79.8 million for the first quarter of 2024. The decreases in research and development expenses in the first quarter 2025 over the prior year period were primarily attributable to the transition of Amtagvi to commercial manufacturing. This decrease was partially offset by higher headcount and related costs, including stock-based compensation, and clinical trial costs resulting from continued enrollment in existing trials.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $43.9 million for the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 40% compared to $31.4 million for the first quarter of 2024. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses in the first quarter compared to the prior year period was primarily attributable to increases in headcount and related costs, including stock-based compensation, to support the growth in the overall business and related corporate infrastructure, as well as marketing and legal costs and costs incurred to support the commercialization of Amtagvi and Proleukin.
For additional information, please see the Company’s Selected Consolidated Balance Sheets and Statements of Operations below.
Webcast and Conference Call
Management will host a conference call and live audio webcast to discuss these results and provide a corporate update today at 4:30 p.m. ET. To listen to the live or archived audio webcast, please register at View Source The live and archived webcast can be accessed in the Investors section of the Company’s website, IR.Iovance.com, for one year.
1. World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) GLOBOCAN 2022.