FDA expert committee votes in favor of Replimune’s melanoma treatment

Panel’s deliberations were key for company — and could signal the agency’s broader posture

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Matthew Herper covers medical innovation — both its promise and its perils.Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

A group of outside experts convened by the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday voted in favor of Replimune’s experimental treatment for advanced melanoma.

In a 10-3 vote, the advisers determined that the biotech company has collected sufficient data to allow the FDA to review RP1, an engineered viral immunotherapy for melanoma. The agency tends to follow the recommendations of its expert panels but is not bound by them.