Bifikafusp alfa-onfekafusp alfa neoadjuvant therapy for treating resectable stage IIIB and IIIC melanoma

Bifikafusp alfa-onfekafusp alfa is currently in clinical development for the neoadjuvant treatment of resectable stage IIIB and IIIC melanoma. Melanoma is a type of skin cancer. The stage of a cancer tells how big it is and how far it has spread. Stage IIIB and IIIC melanomas are regional, meaning the cancer has spread beyond the primary tumour (local) to the closest lymph nodes, but not to distant sites. Despite the introduction of advanced treatments (immunotherapies and targeted therapies), there is still an unmet medical need for melanoma patients with surgically resectable disease, especially those that are at high risk for relapse or progression to stage IV (distant organ involvement), for which the outcome is particularly poor. Neoadjuvant therapy (delivered before surgery) has the potential to provide a more robust immune response (either instead of, or in addition to adjuvant therapy) and also represents a new treatment option for patients not amenable for adjuvant therapy (delivered after surgery).