First oncolytic virus edges towards approval in surprise vote (original) (raw)

Nature Biotechnology volume 33, pages 569–570 (2015)Cite this article

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Although there is little doubt that T-Vec is safe, its efficacy and its utility—as a monotherapy, at least—are limited. When set against the potency of antibody drugs targeting immune checkpoints, its direct and indirect immunostimulatory effects against cancer are modest. Paradoxically, however, the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors has given this technology a boost—preliminary data indicate that T-Vec has more potential when administered in combination with such agents.

Initial sales forecasts for T-Vec are low. New York-based investment bank Cowen and Company puts its annual sales potential in melanoma at no more than $200 million, given the limited patient population the product addresses. “This is because patients with melanoma that is advanced enough to be unresectable, but not advanced enough to require aggressive systemic approaches, are uncommon,” Eric Schmidt, Cowen's managing director and senior research analyst wrote in a quarterly review of Thousand Oaks, California–based Amgen earlier this year.

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  1. Dublin
    Cormac Sheridan

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Sheridan, C. First oncolytic virus edges towards approval in surprise vote.Nat Biotechnol 33, 569–570 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0615-569

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