Pharmaceutical company Iovance Biotherapeutics plans to invest $75 million to build and equipment manufacturing suites in Philadelphia.
Iovance, a company that develops cancer immunotherapies based on tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) technology, has entered into a lease agreement to build an approximately 136,000 square-foot commercial-scale production facility in the city’s Navy Yard. The new facility will be used for the commercial and clinical production of autologous TIL products.
The TIL products are shipped throughout the United States and Europe.
“We are very excited to initiate building our commercial manufacturing facility in Philadelphia,” Iovance President and CEO Maria Fardis said. “The 22-day Iovance Gen 2 TIL therapy process is robust and scalable and has led to impressive responses in melanoma, cervical and head, and neck indications. Building our own internal production capabilities will help us reduce the cost of operations, which is necessary for offering broad access to TIL therapy. We look forward to beginning construction within the next few weeks. Our intention is to continue collaborating with our existing contract manufacturing organizations while we complete the facility in 2021.”
The new facility is expected to create several hundred jobs.
Iovance received financial incentives from the state, the city, and PIDC, Philadelphia’s public-private economic development corporation.