SAN CARLOS, Calif., Sept. 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) and TrakCel Ltd. today
announced a partnership to build a scheduling and logistics tool that automates the supply chain for Iovance’s adoptive cell
therapy products that utilize its tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) technology. The TrakCel Solution will electronically link
Iovance with clinical sites, contract manufacturing organizations and couriers to schedule and track TIL therapies for each
patient. The TrakCel Solution is intended to help manage capacity utilization and throughput and will provide efficiencies in the
delivery of TIL treatment.
“As we expand our clinical program and further them into later-stage development and ultimately prepare for commercialization,
we are entering the partnership with TrakCel to better manage the chain of identity for patient tumor samples and our TIL products.
We selected TrakCel since the organization is a global leader in supply chain management for cell products,” said Dr. Maria Fardis,
PhD, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of Iovance Biotherapeutics. “Real time scheduling can be done through this system,
once implemented, allowing for ease of scheduling by the physician and administrator of the TIL product. Real time tracking of
patient material can be done by Iovance through an integrated bar-code as well.”
Commenting on the partnership with Iovance, Ravi Nalliah, TrakCel’s CEO said, “TrakCel’s technology was developed to support
companies as they scale up their therapies for late clinical development and commercial delivery. Cell therapy supply chains are
complex and involve multiple stakeholders from cell or tumor sample collection, through manufacturing, to infusion of drug product
and this complexity grows as patient numbers increase as products approach commercialization. Close management and scheduling of
activities across this complex supply chain is essential to delivering an efficiently produced, safe and effective product, which
in turn can help drive the commercial success of a cell therapy. We are delighted that Iovance has chosen TrakCel to support the
clinical development and commercialization of their transformative TIL technology.”
About Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of cancer immunotherapy products
for the treatment of various cancers. The Company's lead product candidate is an adoptive cell therapy using tumor-infiltrating
lymphocyte (TIL) technology being investigated for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma, recurrent and/or metastatic
squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and recurrent and metastatic or persistent cervical cancer. For more information,
please visit http://www.iovance.com.
About TrakCel Ltd.
TrakCel is the market leading designer, developer and deliverer of integrated technologies specifically created in 2012 to manage
the international autologous and allogeneic cell, gene and immunotherapy supply chain. TrakCel's software platform has been
developed in collaboration with, and increasingly adopted by leading companies in the cell, gene and immunotherapy industries.
TrakCel’s solutions deliver real-time control over the entire therapeutic supply chain, from sample collection through
manufacturing to cell product delivery. The TrakCel platform accelerates global scale-up and scale-out of cell and gene therapy
products, increasing efficiency and decreasing complexity, while maintaining needle-to-needle compliance and traceability.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain matters discussed in this press release are “forward-looking statements”. We may, in some cases, use terms such as
“predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,”
“might,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking
statements. In particular, the Company’s statements regarding trends and potential future results are examples of such
forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the
success, timing and cost of our ongoing clinical trials and anticipated clinical trials for our current product candidates,
including statements regarding the timing of initiation and completion of the trials; the timing of and our ability to obtain and
maintain U.S. Food and Drug Administration or other regulatory authority approval of, or other action with respect to, our product
candidates; the strength of Company’s product pipeline; the successful implementation of the Company’s research and development
programs and collaborations; the success of the Company’s license or development agreements; the acceptance by the market of the
Company’s product candidates, if approved; and other factors, including general economic conditions and regulatory developments,
not within the Company’s control. The factors discussed herein could cause actual results and developments to be materially
different from those expressed in or implied by such statements. A further list and description of the Company’s risks,
uncertainties and other factors can be found in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company's subsequent
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov or www.iovance.com. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press
release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or
circumstance.
Iovance Investor Relations Contact:
Sarah McCabe
Stern Investor Relations, Inc.
212-362-1200
sarah@sternir.com
Iovance Media Relations Contact:
Evan Smith/Kotaro Yoshida
FTI Consulting
212-850-5622/212-850-5690
evan.smith@fticonsulting.com
kotaro.yoshida@fticonsulting.com
