Replimune Group Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of novel oncolytic immunotherapies, announced the outcome of meeting of the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Cellular, Tissue, and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee (CTGTAC), which discussed the Biologics License Application (BLA) resubmission for RP1 (vusolimogene oderparepvec) in combination with nivolumab for the treatment of advanced melanoma in patients who have progressed on prior anti-PD-1 therapy.
The Committee discussed two topics: (1) whether the single-arm IGNYTE study, as designed and conducted, allows for a reliable determination of the expected response rate and durability of response in the proposed population; and (2) the clinical meaningfulness of the response rate and duration of response reported in IGNYTE, and whether the observed responses are indicative of systemic antitumor activity attributable to RP1.
The committee then voted 10 to 3, on the question: “Are the efficacy results from IGNYTE evaluable and clinically meaningful?”
“We are encouraged by today's outcome and would like to thank the committee for its thoughtful discussion of the IGNYTE data,” said Sushil Patel, chief executive officer of Replimune. “We are grateful to the patients and physicians who took the time to speak today and so clearly articulate the high unmet need in advanced melanoma and importance of new treatment options such as RP1 for the community. This is an important step forward for patients with advanced melanoma who have progressed on anti-PD-1 therapy. We look forward to continuing to work with the US Food and Drug Administration as it completes its review of the Biologics License Application ahead of the action date.”
The US Food and Drug Administration’s target action date under the Class 1 resubmission is August 2, 2026.
RP1 (vusolimogene oderparepvec) is Replimune’s lead product candidate and is based on a proprietary strain of herpes simplex virus engineered and genetically armed with a fusogenic protein (GALV-GP R-) and GM-CSF intended to maximize tumour killing potency, the immunogenicity of tumour cell death, and the activation of a systemic anti-tumour immune response.
Replimune Group Inc headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts, was founded in 2015 with the mission to transform cancer treatment by pioneering the development of novel oncolytic immunotherapies. Replimune’s proprietary RPx platform is based on a potent HSV-1 backbone intended to maximize immunogenic cell death and the induction of a systemic anti-tumour immune response.