The FDA has granted an accelerated approval to Tudriqev, which is a genetically modified oncolytic viral therapy for treatment of advanced, refractory melanoma.

Tudriqev is used in combination with nivolumab for treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced cutaneous melanoma who experienced disease progression with a programmed death receptor-1(PD-1)-blocking antibody-based regimen. Anti-PD-1 refractory melanoma is advanced skin cancer that no longer responds to a widely used class of immunotherapy drugs. The cancer may continue to grow despite treatment. 

Tudriqev is an oncolytic viral therapy based on a modified herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), engineered to selectively target and destroy cancer cells. The virus gets inside a tumor and then replicates and breaks cancer cells apart.

The therapy's safety and effectiveness were evaluated in a trial that enrolled 140 patients with unresectable advanced melanoma who experienced disease progression on at least eight consecutive weeks of prior anti-PD-1 based therapy. 24% of patients achieved an objective response.