Talimogene laherparepvec

Talimogene laherparepvec is an oncolytic treatment used in local treatment of unresectable cutaneous, subcutaneous, and nodal lesions in patients with recurrent melanoma. It is a genetically administered herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) that expresses human cytokine granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) with antitumor and immune-stimulating activities. It specifically replicates within tumor cells and causes lysis. It was approved by the FDA in 2015 under the market name Imlygic.

In general, talimogene laherparepvec has been modified so that it can infect and multiply inside melanoma cells . The drug subsequently uses the melanoma cells' own machinery to multiply, eventually overwhelming the melanoma cells and killing them . Alternatively, although talimogene laherparepvec also enters healthy cells, it is not designed to multiply inside them .

This medication is a genetically modified oncolytic viral therapy indicated for the local treatment of unresectable, cutaneous, subcutaneous, and nodal lesions in patients with melanoma recurrent after initial surgery . Elsewhere, the EMA notes that the agent is indicated for the treatment of adults with unresectable melanoma that is regionally or distantly metastatic (Stage IIIB, IIIC, and IVM1a) with no bone, brain, lung, or other visceral diseases .