Philly biotech Adaptimmune gives first dose of first-of-its-kind therapy
Adaptimmune announced last month that it also plans to reduce its workforce by 33% to restructure and break even in 2027.
A local biotech company with a new approach to cancer recently administered the first commercial dose of its signature therapy to a patient and announced it was laying off one-third of its staff.
Adaptimmune, based in the Navy Yard, manufactures Tecelra, the first therapy that uses patients’ own modified cells to attack a solid tumor. Similar therapies such as CAR-T (also pioneered in Philadelphia) have worked in blood cancers such as leukemia, but have shown less promise in treating solid tumors, which represent 90% of all adult cancers.
Tecelra is the first engineered cell therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat a solid tumor — synovial sarcoma, a relatively rare form of cancer that affects muscles and ligaments.
On Dec. 2, the company announced it had administered Tecelra to its first synovial sarcoma patient, at Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida.
“We are focused now on reaching as many eligible synovial sarcoma patients as possible with this onetime infusion treatment as well as advancing our broader sarcoma franchise as we aim to ultimately redefine the way cancer is treated,” Adrian Rawcliffe, Adaptimmune’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The news came on the heels of the company’s announcement last month that it was planning to reduce its 500-plus workforce by 33%, with the goal of breaking even in 2027.
The company plans to restructure to prioritize treatments for sarcomas, as well as ongoing research, including a collaboration with the Belgium-based biotechnology company Galapagos on a treatment for head and neck cancer.
“These updates will enable the business to focus on our areas of greatest priority,” Rawcliffe said in a statement to The Inquirer. “With these strategic moves, we are confident that Adaptimmune is positioned for long-term success.”