First oncolytic virus vaccine for advanced melanoma

Source: American Pharmacist Association, December 2015

New Drug

FDA recently approved the first oncolytic virus therapy: talimogene laherparepvec (Imlygic—BioVex/Amgen), a modified live herpes simplex virus type 1 oncolytic virus therapy, for the treatment of recurrent melanoma.

“Imlygic is a unique melanoma treatment in that it has to be injected directly into the melanoma lesions themselves. Even though patients won’t have all of their lesions injected, even noninjected lesions can respond to the drug,” said Christine Walko, PharmD, BCOP, personalized medicine specialist at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL.

“Melanoma is a serious disease that can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes difficult to treat,” Karen Midthun, MD, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in an FDA news release. “This approval provides patients and health care providers with a novel treatment for melanoma.”