Iovance Biotherapeutics' Amtagvi (lifileucel) received approval from the US FDA in February, marking a truly pivotal milestone in the field of solid tumor therapy for certain adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. As the first approved tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy, it is set to expedite the regulatory pathway for next-generation products.

Biotech entrepreneurs tend to be an optimistic group, and there were many pockets of hope for 2024. However, the consensus remains that depressed valuations and paucity of fresh funds will continue to pose a challenge for the sector, and companies will need to prioritize carefully and work even harder to demonstrate and create value.

Just nine drug developers went public in the US during the first quarter of last year, but with the industry boosted by pandemic response, 32 biopharma companies launched IPOs in Q1 of this year.

Achilles Therapeutics is betting that its clonal neoantigen-targeting T cell (cNeT) products, combined with an industrial scale advanced manufacturing capability and predictive bioinformatics platform, will have a transformational impact on patients with solid tumors and metastasized cancer.