Plymouth Meeting’s Inovio Pharmaceuticals is getting closer to seeking U.S. Food & Drug Administration approval for its first DNA medicine, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The biotechnology company expects to file a biologics license application for its new lead drug candidate, INO-3107, in the second half of 2024.

The drug candidate targets patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, a rare disease caused by benign tumors growing in the respiratory tract.

The tumors triggered by the human papillomavirus or HPV can grow quickly and often come back after being removed.

This FDA filing will be the first time in its 24-year history that Inovio sought FDA approval for a DNA medicine it developed.

DNA therapies deliver a drug directly to a patient’s cells to improve the body’s ability to fight a disease.

If approved, the drug candidate will also be the first DNA medicine to treat recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in the United States.

The current standard of care is surgery to remove the tumors, but they often grow back because the underlying infection is still active.

Read more about Inovio Pharmaceuticals’ first DNA medicine in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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