# Talimogene laherparepvec

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/talimogene-laherparepvec/  
OnCo record `talimogene-laherparepvec` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC, Imlygic) was the first approved oncolytic virus (2015), injected into melanoma skin lesions.

## Summary

Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) is a herpes simplex virus type 1 with ICP34.5 and ICP47 deleted, so it replicates in tumour cells but not healthy ones, and it expresses GM-CSF to attract antigen-presenting cells. It was the first approved oncolytic virus (2015), injected into unresectable melanoma lesions at 10^6 PFU/mL initially, then 10^8 PFU/mL 3 weeks later and every 2 weeks. In OPTiM the durable response rate was 16% versus 2% for GM-CSF alone. Uptake has been modest because responses concentrate in injected lesions, and the MASTERKEY-265 combination with pembrolizumab did not improve progression-free or overall survival. Amgen markets it; its legacy is proving the principle that later viruses build on. For a newcomer: the first cancer-killing virus approved, useful mainly for accessible skin lesions.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Brand: Imlygic
- Code: T-VEC
- Modality: Oncolytic virus (HSV-1)
- Mechanism: HSV-1 with ICP34.5 and ICP47 deleted, expressing GM-CSF.
- Approvals: US 2015: Unresectable melanoma with injectable lesions
- Dosing: Intratumoural injection; 10⁶ PFU/mL initial dose, then 10⁸ PFU/mL 3 weeks later and every 2 weeks; volume by lesion size (up to 4 mL total)

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talimogene_laherparepvec
- FDA label (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?query=Talimogene%20laherparepvec

## Connected records

- cancers: [Advanced melanoma (unresectable stage III and stage IV)](https://onco.cc/cancers/advanced-melanoma/), [Melanoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/melanoma/), [Merkel cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/merkel-cell-carcinoma/), [Stage III melanoma (after surgery)](https://onco.cc/cancers/stage-iii-melanoma/)
- technologies: [Isolated limb perfusion and infusion](https://onco.cc/technologies/isolated-limb-perfusion/), [Oncolytic viruses](https://onco.cc/technologies/oncolytic-virus/)
- companies: [Amgen](https://onco.cc/companies/amgen/), [Omega Funds](https://onco.cc/companies/omega-funds/)
- trials: [An Extended Use Study of Safety and Efficacy of Talimogene Laherparepvec in Melanoma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct01368276/), [Efficacy and Safety Study of Talimogene Laherparepvec Compared to Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) in Melanoma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00769704/), [Pembrolizumab With Talimogene Laherparepvec or Placebo in Unresected Melanoma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct02263508/)
- targets: [GM-CSF receptor (CSF2RA)](https://onco.cc/targets/csf2ra/)
- pairings: [Oncolytic virus + PD-1 blockade](https://onco.cc/pairings/oncolytic-plus-pd1/)
- people: [Howard L. Kaufman](https://onco.cc/people/howard-kaufman/), [Igor Puzanov](https://onco.cc/people/igor-puzanov/), [Kevin Harrington](https://onco.cc/people/kevin-harrington/), [Reinhard Dummer](https://onco.cc/people/reinhard-dummer/)
- ideas: [Oncolytic viruses that make interleukin-12 only inside the tumour](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-bio2-oncolytic-regulated-il12/)
- key papers: [OPTiM: the trial that made talimogene laherparepvec the first approved oncolytic virus](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-andtbacka-optim-talimogene-jco-2015/), [Shalhout 2023: what the approved oncolytic viruses actually do in practice](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-shalhout-oncolytic-progress-challenges-natrevclinonc-2023/)
- terms: [Cancer vaccines and oncolytic viruses](https://onco.cc/terms/vaccines-and-oncolytic-viruses/)
- institutions: [University Hospital Zurich / Comprehensive Cancer Center Zurich](https://onco.cc/institutions/usz-zurich/)
- pathways: [Cold tumours: immune deserts and exclusion](https://onco.cc/pathways/immune-desert-exclusion/)
- drugs: [Daromun](https://onco.cc/drugs/daromun/)

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