Iovance opens PA cell therapy plant in Philadelphia

The $85 million Iovance Cell Therapy Center (ICTC) has opened its doors at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with capacity to supply thousands of patients per year.

“Since Iovance was founded, we have been dedicated to advancing novel cell therapies for patients with solid tumor cancers,” Iovance CEO Frederick Vogt said.

“A little over two years after breaking ground, iCTC is now one of the largest cell therapy manufacturing facilities in the world and may ultimately house hundreds of employees.”

He added: “We now have the capacity to supply broad access to TIL therapies for patients.”

Iovance is developing several tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapies for various cancers. Lead product lifileucel has US FDA regenerative medicine advanced therapy (RMAT) designation and is in pivotal trials for both melanoma and cervical cancer.