Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA) has appointed Noah Berkowitz, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer, effective September 30, 2026, according to a company statement.

Berkowitz previously served as Chief Medical Officer at Arvinas Pharmaceuticals, where he led the clinical strategy that resulted in the first FDA approval of a targeted protein degradation therapy. Before that, he was Senior Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head, Hematology at Bristol Myers Squibb, where his teams achieved regulatory approvals for the CAR T cell therapies Abecma and Breyanzi. Clinical programs under his leadership contributed to annual sales of Reblozyl exceeding $2 billion. He also held clinical development roles at Novartis and completed a fellowship in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute. He holds an M.D. and Ph.D. in molecular immunology from Columbia University.

In connection with the appointment, Iovance granted Berkowitz inducement stock options and restricted stock units covering up to 450,000 shares of common stock. The awards were granted on September 30, 2026, under the company's Amended and Restated 2021 Inducement Plan. Stock options carry an exercise price of $14.82 per share, reflecting the closing price on the grant date. Both stock options and restricted stock units vest over three years, with one-third vesting on the first anniversary of his start date and the remainder vesting in eight quarterly installments over the following two years. Certain restricted stock units may also vest upon the achievement of specified regulatory milestones.

Frederick Vogt, Ph.D., J.D., Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, said Berkowitz "brings deep experience in global drug development that has led to regulatory approvals across cancer, blood disorders, and cell therapy."

Iovance is headquartered in Pennsylvania and focuses on tumor infiltrating lymphocyte therapies for solid tumor cancers.