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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Filed by the Registrant ☒

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☐

Check the appropriate box:

☐Preliminary Proxy Statement

☐Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

☒Definitive Proxy Statement

☐Definitive Additional Materials

☐Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

IOVANCE BIOTHERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Payment of Filing Fee (check the appropriate box):

☒No fee required.

☐Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

☐Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11

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825 Industrial Road, Suite 400

San Carlos, California 94070

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NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To Be Held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time on Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Dear Stockholders of Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.:

The 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), will be held on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time. In light of the public health impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and in order to help protect the health and well-being of our stockholders and employees, the Annual Meeting will be held virtually, via live webcast. Stockholders will be able to attend the Annual Meeting and submit questions and vote their shares during the Annual Meeting, from any location that has internet connectivity. There will be no physical in-person meeting. You or your proxyholder will be able to participate and vote by visiting www.cstproxy.com/iovance/2023 and using your control number assigned by Continental Stock Transfer. To register and receive access to the virtual meeting, registered stockholders and beneficial stockholders (those holding shares through a stock brokerage account or by a bank or other holder of record) will need to follow the instructions applicable to them provided in the enclosed proxy statement. The Annual Meeting will be held for the following purposes, as more fully described in the accompanying proxy statement:

We will also consider and act upon other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournments or postponements thereof.

Our Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on April 14, 2023, as the record date for the Annual Meeting. Only stockholders of record on April 14, 2023, are entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting. Further information regarding voting rights and the matters to be voted upon is presented in the accompanying proxy statement.

This proxy statement and our 2022 Annual Report can be accessed directly at the following internet address: https://www.cstproxy.com/iovance/2023.

YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, we urge you to submit your vote via the internet, telephone, or mail.

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We appreciate your continued support of Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. and look forward to either greeting you at the Annual Meeting or receiving your proxy.

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PROXY STATEMENT

FOR 2023 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To Be Held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time on Tuesday, June 6, 2023

This proxy statement and the enclosed form of proxy are furnished by Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“we,” “our,” “us,” or the “Company”), in connection with the solicitation of proxies by our Board of Directors for use at our 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and any postponements, adjournments, or continuations thereof (the “Annual Meeting”). The Annual Meeting will be held virtually, via live webcast. Stockholders will be able to attend the Annual Meeting and submit questions and vote their shares during the Annual Meeting, from any location that has internet connectivity. There will be no physical in-person meeting. You or your proxyholder will be able to participate and vote by visiting www.cstproxy.com/iovance/2023 and using your control number assigned by Continental Stock Transfer (“Continental”). Please see pages 2 to 8 of this proxy statement for further instructions on how to attend and vote your shares at the Annual Meeting. Stockholders can attend the meeting via the internet at https://www.cstproxy.com/iovance/2023 by using the 12-digit control number which appears on your proxy card (printed in the box and marked by the arrow) and the instructions that accompanied your proxy materials. The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) containing instructions on how to access this proxy statement and our 2022 Annual Report is first being mailed on or about April 27, 2023, to all stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING: This proxy statement, the accompanying proxy card or voting instruction card and our 2022 Annual Report are also available at https://www.cstproxy.com/iovance/2023.

The information provided in the “question and answer” format below is for your convenience only and is merely a summary of the information contained in this proxy statement. You should read this entire proxy statement carefully. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not intended to be incorporated by reference into this proxy statement and references to our website address in this proxy statement are inactive textual references only.

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE PROXY MATERIALS AND OUR ANNUAL MEETING

What matters am I voting on at the Annual Meeting?

You will be voting:

How does the Board of Directors recommend I vote on these proposals?

Our Board of Directors recommends a vote:

Who is entitled to vote?

Holders of our common stock as of the close of business on April 14, 2023 (the “Record Date”), may vote at the Annual Meeting. As of the Record Date, there were 224,358,979 shares of our common stock outstanding. At the Annual Meeting, the stockholders will be entitled to one vote for each share of our common stock held by them on the Record Date. We do not have cumulative voting rights for the election of directors. On the Record Date, 194 shares of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series A Preferred”) were outstanding, which shares of Series A Preferred were convertible into 97,000 shares of common stock, and 2,842,158 shares of our Series B Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series B Preferred”) were outstanding, which shares of Series B Preferred were

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convertible into 2,842,158 shares of common stock. However, except as otherwise required by law, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred and Series B Preferred do not have the right to vote on matters that come before the stockholders. Accordingly, the holders of the Series A Preferred and Series B Preferred do not have the right to vote at the Annual Meeting in their capacities as holders of preferred stock.

Registered Stockholders. If shares of our common stock are registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, you are considered the stockholder of record with respect to those shares, and the Notice was provided to you directly by us. As the stockholder of record, you have the right to grant your voting proxy directly to the individuals listed on the proxy card or to vote in person at the Annual Meeting by using the online meeting website.

Street Name Stockholders. If shares of our common stock are held on your behalf in a stock brokerage account or by a bank or other nominee, you are considered the beneficial owner of those shares held in “street name,” and the Notice was forwarded to you by your broker or nominee, who is considered the stockholder of record with respect to those shares. As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker or nominee how to vote your shares. Beneficial owners are also invited to attend the Annual Meeting. However, since a beneficial owner is not the stockholder of record, you may not vote your shares of our common stock in person at the Annual Meeting unless you follow the instructions under the next section, “How do I register for and attend the virtual-only Annual Meeting?” Throughout this proxy, we refer to stockholders who hold their shares through a broker, bank, or other nominee as “street name stockholders.”

How do I register for and attend the virtual-only Annual Meeting?

There will be no in-person annual meeting of the stockholders in 2023. The Annual Meeting will be held virtually over the internet by means of a live audio webcast. Only stockholders who own common stock as of the close of business on April 14, 2023, will be entitled to attend the virtual meeting. Any stockholder wishing to attend the virtual Annual Meeting should register for the meeting by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on June 5, 2023. To register for the virtual meeting, please follow these instructions as applicable to the nature of your ownership of our common stock:

Registered Stockholders. If your shares are registered in your name with Continental and you wish to attend the online-only virtual meeting, go to www.cstproxy.com/iovance/2023, enter the control number you received on your proxy card or Notice and click on the “Click here to preregister for the online meeting” link at the top of the page. Just prior to the start of the meeting you will need to log back into the meeting site using your control number. Pre-registration is recommended but is not required in order to attend.

Street Name Stockholders. Street name stockholders who wish to attend the online-only virtual meeting must obtain a legal proxy by contacting their account representative at the bank, broker, or other nominee that holds their shares and e-mail a copy (a legible photograph is sufficient) of their legal proxy to proxy@continentalstock.com. Street name stockholders who e-mail a valid legal proxy will be issued a meeting control number that will allow them to register to attend and participate in the online-only meeting. After contacting Continental, a street name stockholder will receive an e-mail prior to the meeting with a link and instructions for entering the virtual meeting. Street name stockholders should contact Continental at least 5 business days prior to the meeting date.

Stockholders participating in the virtual meeting will be in a listen-only mode and will not be able to speak during the webcast. However, in order to maintain the interactive nature of the virtual meeting, virtual attendees are able to:

Starting May 31, 2023, stockholders may submit questions or comments before or during the meeting through the virtual meeting portal by typing in the “Submit a question” box.

Stockholders will also have the option to call in to the virtual meeting and listen by telephone by calling:

Optional telephone access (listen-only):

Within the U.S. and Canada: +1-800-450-7155 (toll-free)

Outside of the U.S. and Canada: +1-857-999-9155 (standard rates apply)

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Passcode for telephone access:

0143713#

How many votes are needed for approval of each proposal?

The representation, in person or by proxy, of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting is necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Virtual attendance at the Annual Meeting constitutes presence in person for purposes of a quorum at the Annual Meeting. Shares represented by proxies pursuant to which votes have been withheld from any nominee for director, or which contain one or more abstentions or broker “non-votes,” are counted as present or represented for purposes of determining the presence or absence of a quorum for the Annual Meeting. A “non-vote” occurs when a broker or other nominee holding shares for a beneficial owner votes on one proposal but does not vote on another proposal because the broker does not have discretionary voting power and has not received instructions from the beneficial owner.

Election of Directors (Proposal No. 1). Directors are elected by a majority of the votes cast, in person or by proxy, at the Annual Meeting pursuant to an amendment to the Company’s bylaws adopted by the Company in 2021. The nominees who receive the affirmative votes of a majority of the shares present or represented and voting on the election of directors at the Annual Meeting will be elected to our Board of Directors; provided, however, for any director who does not receive a majority of the votes cast, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors may decide, based upon various factors, to allow such director to remain on the Board of Directors. Shares present or represented and not so marked as to withhold authority to vote for a particular nominee will be voted in favor of a particular nominee. Shares properly withheld for a nominee by a stockholder, whether that stockholder is (i) present at the meeting or (ii) represented by proxy at the meeting, and broker “non-votes” will be counted as a vote against such nominee.

Advisory Vote on the Compensation of our Named Executive Officers (Proposal No. 2). For the advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers, the affirmative vote of the majority of shares present, in person or represented by proxy, and voting on that matter is required for approval. Shares voted to abstain are included in the number of shares present or represented and voting on each matter. Shares subject to broker “non-votes” are considered to not be entitled to vote for the particular matter and have the practical effect of reducing the number of affirmative votes required to achieve a majority for such matter by reducing the total number of shares from which the majority is calculated.

Ratification of Independent Accountants (Proposal No. 3). For the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, an affirmative vote of a majority of the shares present, in person or represented by proxy, and voting on such matter is required for approval. Shares voted to abstain are included in the number of shares present or represented and voting. Brokers are entitled to vote on this matter without direction from you, and therefore are included in the number of affirmative votes required to achieve a majority.

Approval of an Amendment to our 2018 Plan to increase the number of shares of the Company’s common stock authorized for issuance thereunder from 20,700,000 shares to 29,700,000 shares (Proposal No. 4). For the approval of an amendment to our 2018 Plan to increase the number of shares of our common stock authorized for issuance thereunder from 20,700,000 shares to 29,700,000 shares, the affirmative vote of the majority of shares present, in person or represented by proxy, and voting on the matter is required for approval. Shares voted to abstain are included in the number of shares present or represented and voting on each matter. Shares subject to broker “non-votes” are considered to be not entitled to vote for the particular matter and have the practical effect of reducing the number of affirmative votes required to achieve a majority for such matter by reducing the total number of shares from which the majority is calculated.

Approval of an Amendment to the 2020 ESPP to increase the number of shares of the Company’s common stock authorized for issuance thereunder from 500,000 shares to 1,400,000 shares (Proposal No. 5). For the approval of an amendment to the 2020 ESPP to increase the number of shares of our common stock authorized for issuance thereunder from 500,000 shares to 1,400,000 shares, the affirmative vote of the majority of shares present, in person or represented by proxy, and voting on the matter is required for approval. Shares voted to abstain are included in the number of shares present or represented and voting on each matter. Shares subject to broker “non-votes” are considered to be not entitled to vote for the particular matter and have the practical effect of reducing the number of affirmative votes required to achieve a majority for such matter by reducing the total number of shares from which the majority is calculated.

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Approval of an Amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation, as Amended, to Increase the Number of Authorized Shares of the Company’s Common Stock from 300,000,000 shares to 500,000,000 shares (Proposal No. 6). For the approval of an amendment to our Charter to increase the number of authorized shares of our common stock from 300,000,000 shares to 500,000,000 shares, the affirmative vote of the majority of shares outstanding is required for approval. Brokers are authorized to vote without instructions on this proposal. Abstentions are included in the shares present at the Meeting for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present and are counted as a vote against for purposes of determining whether the foregoing proposal is approved.

Other Matters. The Board of Directors knows of no other matters to be presented at the Annual Meeting. If any other matter should be presented at the Annual Meeting upon which a vote properly may be taken, the persons named on the enclosed proxy will have discretionary authority to vote the shares represented by such proxies in accordance with their best judgment.

How do I vote?

If you are a stockholder of record, there are four ways to vote:

If you are a street name stockholder, you will receive voting instructions from your broker, bank, or other nominee. You must follow the voting instructions provided by your broker, bank, or other nominee in order to instruct your broker, bank, or other nominee on how to vote your shares. Street name stockholders should generally be able to vote by returning an instruction card, or by telephone or on the internet. However, the availability of telephone and internet voting will depend on the voting process of your broker, bank, or other nominee. As discussed above, if you are a street name stockholder, you may not vote your shares in person at the Annual Meeting unless you follow the instructions under the section “How do I register for and attend the virtual-only Annual Meeting?”

Can I change my vote?

Yes. If you are a stockholder of record, you can change your vote or revoke your proxy any time before the Annual Meeting by:

If you are a street name stockholder, your broker, bank, or other nominee can provide you with instructions on how to change your vote.

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What is the effect of giving a proxy?

Proxies are solicited by and on behalf of our Board of Directors. Frederick G. Vogt, Ph.D., J.D. and Jean- Marc Bellemin, or either of them, have been designated as proxies by our Board of Directors. When proxies are properly dated, executed, and returned, the shares represented by such proxies will be voted at the Annual Meeting in accordance with the instructions of the stockholder. If no specific instructions are given, however, the shares will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of our Board of Directors as described above. If any matters not described in this proxy statement are properly presented at the Annual Meeting, the proxy holders will use their own judgment to determine how to vote the shares. If the Annual Meeting is adjourned, the proxy holders can vote the shares on the new Annual Meeting date as well, unless you have properly revoked your proxy instructions, as described above.

Why did I receive a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials instead of a full set of proxy materials?

In accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we have elected to furnish our proxy materials, including this proxy statement and our annual report, primarily via the internet. The Notice containing instructions on how to access our proxy materials is first being mailed on or about April 27, 2023, to all stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. Stockholders may request to receive all future proxy materials in printed form by mail or electronically by e-mail by following the instructions contained in the Notice. We encourage stockholders to take advantage of the availability of our proxy materials on the internet to help reduce the environmental impact of our annual meetings of stockholders.

How are proxies solicited for the Annual Meeting?

Our Board of Directors is soliciting proxies for use at the Annual Meeting. All expenses associated with this solicitation will be borne by us. We will reimburse brokers or other nominees for reasonable expenses that they incur in sending our proxy materials to you if a broker or other nominee holds shares of our common stock on your behalf.

How may my brokerage firm or other intermediary vote my shares if I fail to provide timely directions?

Brokerage firms and other intermediaries holding shares of our common stock in street name for customers are generally required to vote such shares in the manner directed by their customers. In the absence of timely directions, your broker will have discretion to vote your shares on our sole “routine” matter, the proposal to ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for our fiscal year ending December 31, 2023. Your broker will not have discretion to vote on the election of directors or any of the other proposals, which are “non-routine” matters, absent direction from you. Absent direction from you, shares not voted for our “non routine” matters will result in broker non-votes.

Who will bear the cost of soliciting votes for the Annual Meeting?

We will bear all expenses of this solicitation, including the cost of preparing and mailing these proxy materials, as well as hosting the virtual-only Annual Meeting. We may reimburse brokerage firms, custodians, nominees, fiduciaries and other persons representing beneficial owners of common stock for their reasonable expenses in forwarding solicitation material to such beneficial owners. Directors, officers and employees of our Company may also solicit proxies in person or by other means of communication. Such directors, officers and employees will not be additionally compensated but may be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses in connection with such solicitation. We may engage the services of a professional proxy solicitation firm to aid in the solicitation of proxies from certain brokers, bank nominees and other institutional owners. Our costs for such services, if retained, will not be significant. You are responsible for any internet access charges you may incur in connection with viewing our proxy materials or voting over the internet.

Is my vote confidential?

Proxy instructions, ballots, and voting tabulations that identify individual stockholders are handled in a manner that protects your voting privacy. Your vote will not be disclosed either within our Company or to third parties, except as necessary to meet applicable legal requirements, to allow for the tabulation of votes and certification of the vote, or to facilitate a successful proxy solicitation.

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Where can I find the voting results of the Annual Meeting?

We will announce preliminary voting results at the Annual Meeting. We will also disclose voting results on a Current Report on Form 8-K that we will file with the SEC within four business days after the Annual Meeting. If final voting results are not available to us in time to file a Current Report on Form 8-K within four business days after the Annual Meeting, we will file a Current Report on Form 8-K to publish preliminary results and will provide the final results in an amendment to the Current Report on Form 8-K as soon as they become available.

I share an address with another stockholder, and we received only one paper copy of the proxy materials. How may I obtain an additional copy of the proxy materials?

We have adopted a procedure called “householding,” which the SEC has approved. Under this procedure, we deliver a single copy of the Notice and, if applicable, our proxy materials to multiple stockholders who share the same address unless we have received contrary instructions from one or more of the stockholders. This procedure reduces our printing costs, mailing costs, and fees, and is also environmentally friendly. Stockholders who participate in householding will continue to be able to access and receive separate proxy cards. Upon written or oral request, we will deliver promptly a separate copy of the Notice and, if applicable, our proxy materials to any stockholder at a shared address to which we delivered a single copy of any of these materials. To receive a separate copy, or, if a stockholder is receiving multiple copies, to request that we only send a single copy of the Notice and, if applicable, our proxy materials, such stockholder may contact us at the following address:

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.

Attention: Corporate Secretary

825 Industrial Road, Suite 400

San Carlos, California 94070

Stockholders who beneficially own shares of our common stock held in street name may contact their brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer or other similar organization to request information about householding.

What is the deadline to propose actions for consideration at next year’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders or to nominate individuals to serve as directors?

Stockholders may present proper proposals for inclusion in our proxy statement and for consideration at the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders by submitting their proposals in writing to our Corporate Secretary in a timely manner. For a stockholder proposal to be considered for inclusion in our proxy statement for our Annual Meeting, our Corporate Secretary must receive the written proposal at our principal executive offices not later than December 29, 2023, which is 120 days prior to the first anniversary of the mailing date of this proxy. In addition, stockholder proposals must comply with the requirements of Rule 14a-8 regarding the inclusion of stockholder proposals in company-sponsored proxy materials. Stockholder proposals should be addressed to:

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.

Attention: Corporate Secretary

825 Industrial Road, Suite 400

San Carlos, California 94070

In addition, our bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholders who wish to present certain matters before an Annual Meeting of Stockholders. In general, nominations for the election of directors may be made by our Board of Directors or any committee thereof or any stockholder, who is a stockholder of record on the date of the giving of such notice and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting, who is entitled to vote at such meeting and who has delivered Timely Notice (as defined below) to our Corporate Secretary, which notice must contain specified information concerning the nominees and concerning the stockholder proposing such nominations, as specified in our bylaws.

Our bylaws also provide that the only business that may be conducted at an annual meeting is business that is (1) specified in the notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto) given by or at the direction of our Board of Directors, (2) otherwise properly brought before the meeting by or at the direction of our Board of Directors (or any committee thereto), or (3) properly brought before the meeting by a stockholder who has delivered Timely Notice (as defined below) to our Corporate Secretary.

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“Timely Notice” is defined in our amended and restated bylaws as that date which is not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the one-year anniversary of the previous year’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders. As a result, in order for a stockholder to bring an item of business before the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, that item must be provided to our Corporate Secretary between February 7, 2024, and March 8, 2024, in accordance with the applicable provisions of our bylaws.

You may recommend candidates to our Board of Directors for consideration by our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee by following the procedures set forth below in “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance — Director Nominations Process — Nomination of Directors by Stockholders.”

If a stockholder who has notified us of his, her or its intention to present a proposal at an annual meeting does not appear to present his, her or its proposal at such annual meeting, we are not required to present the proposal for a vote at such annual meeting.

How may I obtain a copy of the bylaw provisions regarding stockholder proposals and director nominations?

A copy of the full text of the bylaw provisions discussed above may be obtained by writing to our Corporate Secretary. In addition, this and other information about our Company may be obtained at the web site maintained by the SEC that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the SEC’s website is www.sec.gov. All notices of proposals by stockholders, whether or not included in our proxy materials, should be sent to our principal executive offices, Attention: Corporate Secretary.

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PROPOSAL NO. 1 — ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

The following is information concerning the nominees for election as directors. We believe that each nominee will be able to serve as a director. In the event that a nominee is unable to serve, the proxy holder will vote the proxies for such other nominee as he or she may determine. Each nominee currently serves as a director of the Company. The term of office of each director will expire at next year’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Nominees

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has recommended, and our Board of Directors has approved, as nominees the following individuals for election as directors at the Annual Meeting:

Iain Dukes, D. Phil.

Athena Countouriotis, M.D.

Ryan Maynard

Merrill A. McPeak

Wayne P. Rothbaum

Michael Weiser, M.D., Ph.D.
Wendy Yarno

For information concerning the nominees, please see the section titled “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance” below.

If you are a stockholder of record and you sign your proxy card or vote by telephone or over the internet but do not give instructions with respect to the voting of directors, your shares will be voted “FOR” the re-election of the above-mentioned nominees.

We expect that all of the foregoing nominees will accept such nomination; however, in the event that a director nominee is unable or declines to serve as a director at the time of the Annual Meeting, the proxies will be voted for any nominee who shall be designated by our Board of Directors to fill such vacancy. If you are a street name stockholder and you do not give voting instructions to your broker or nominee, your broker will leave your shares unvoted on this matter.

Nomination Procedures

As set forth in our Third Amended and Restated Bylaws which became effective after our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, for all duly called or convened meetings of stockholders, at which a quorum is present, for the election of directors, a majority of the votes cast shall be sufficient to elect a director; provided, that, for contested elections, directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast if, as of the date of the meeting of the stockholders, the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any director nominated for re-election at an Annual Meeting fails to receive more votes cast “for” his or her re-election than “against” his or her re-election, such director shall promptly tender his or her resignation for our Board of Directors consideration. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee designated by our Board of Directors shall then make a recommendation to our Board of Directors to accept or reject the tendered resignation. Our Board of Directors will then have 90 days from the date the election results from the applicable Annual Meeting are certified to notify the resigning director of its decision. Our Board of Directors may consider all relevant factors in making its decision, including any stated reasons for “against” votes, whether the underlying cause of the “against” votes are curable, the length of service and contributions by the resigning director to us, and whether the resignation would cause us to fail to comply with any applicable rules or requirements, would lead to a “change of control” as determined pursuant to any financing or other material agreement, or would cause us to default under any material agreements. If the resigning director’s tendered resignation is not accepted, such director will continue to serve on our Board of Directors.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” EACH OF THE DIRECTOR NOMINEES NAMED ABOVE.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Our business affairs are managed under the direction of our Board of Directors, which is currently composed of seven members. The following table sets forth the names, ages as of the Record Date, and certain other information for the seven directors whose terms are expiring at the Annual Meeting and the individuals who are nominees for election as a director at the Annual Meeting.

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Biographical information for each director is included below.

Iain Dukes, D. Phil. Dr. Dukes joined the Company’s Board of Directors in August 2016 and was appointed Chairman of the Board on August 16, 2016. Dr. Dukes currently is a Venture Partner at OrbiMed Advisors LLC. He previously served as Senior Vice President and Head of Business Development and Licensing for Merck Research Laboratories through May 2016. He joined Merck in August 2013. Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Dukes was Vice President of External Research & Development at Amgen, from August 2010 to August 2013. From 2007 to 2010, Dr. Dukes was the President and Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the board of directors, of Essentialis Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of breakthrough medicines for the treatment of rare metabolic diseases. From 2000 to 2007, Dr. Dukes was Vice President of Scientific and Technology Licensing at GlaxoSmithKline, and prior to that, from 1990 to 1999, he held various positions at Glaxo Wellcome, including Head of Exploratory Development for Metabolic and Urogenital Diseases and Head of Ion Channel Drug Discovery Group. Dr. Dukes holds Master of Jurisprudence and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees from the University of Oxford, a Master of Science degree in Cardiovascular Studies from the University of Leeds and a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacology from the University of Bath.

Our Board of Directors believes that Dr. Dukes is highly qualified to serve as a member of the Board of Directors because of his extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including his service in senior management roles.

Athena Countouriotis, M.D. Dr. Countouriotis joined our Board of Directors in June 2019. Dr. Countouriotis is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Avenzo Therapeutics, a private biotechnology company focused on oncology. Previously she was the President and Chief Executive Officer and a board member of Turning Point Therapeutics from 2018 until it was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in August 2022. Dr. Countouriotis has also served as the Chief Medical Officer for multiple public biotechnology companies, including Adverum Biotechnologies, Halozyme Therapeutics and Ambit Biosciences. Earlier in her career, Dr. Countouriotis led development of products for Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, including Sutent®, Mylotarg®, Bosulif® and Sprycel®. She also serves on the board of directors at Passage Bio and privately held biotechnology companies Capstan Therapeutics, Leal Therapeutics and Recludix Therapeutics. Dr. Countouriotis holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and an M.D. from the Tufts University School of Medicine. She received training at the University of California, Los Angeles and at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Program.

Our Board of Directors believes that Dr. Countouriotis is highly qualified to serve as a member of the Board of Directors because of her medical and business background and education, her experience as an executive of several biotechnology companies, and her experience in drug development. As an executive officer of a privately held company and a board member of one other public company, Dr. Countouriotis is able to devote the time necessary to our Board of Directors. We believe her experience makes her a valuable asset to the Board of Directors.

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Wendy Dixon, Ph.D. Dr. Dixon joined our Board of Directors in June 2022. Dr. Dixon previously served as Chief Marketing Officer and President, Global Marketing for Bristol-Myers Squibb (“BMS”) from 2001 to 2009. She led the global commercialization and launch strategy of eight new products and directed growth and life cycle management for in-line brands. As a member of the Executive Committee at BMS, she was deeply involved with the strategy and activities that transformed BMS into a highly successful specialty biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Dixon also established and served as the executive sponsor for the BMS “Women’s Affinity Network,” focused on gender diversity and inclusion priorities. From 1996 to 2001, Dr. Dixon was Senior Vice President, Marketing at Merck & Co., where she was responsible in launching six new products. Previously, Dr. Dixon held executive management positions at West Pharmaceuticals, Osteotech and Centocor, as well as various positions at SmithKline and French (now GlaxoSmithKline) in marketing, regulatory affairs, project management and as a biochemist. She currently serves on the board of directors of Zevra Therapeutics, Alkermes Plc, Arvinas, Inc. and Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. Previously, Dr. Dixon served on the board of directors of Incyte Corporation, bluebird bio, Inc., Dentsply International, Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Orexigen Therapeutics, Sesen Bio, Inc. (formerly Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc.), Ardea Biosciences, Inc. and Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Dixon earned a B.Sc., an M.Sc. in Natural Science, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Our Board of Directors believes that Dr. Dixon is highly qualified to serve as a member of the Board of Directors because of her extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including her service in senior management roles and her experience serving on boards of directors. Although Dr. Dixon serves on the board of three other public companies, she is still able to devote the time necessary to our Board of Directors. We believe her experience makes her a valuable asset to the Board of Directors.

Ryan Maynard. Mr. Maynard joined the Company’s Board of Directors in February 2015. Mr. Maynard currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Cara Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company. Previously he served as the Chief Financial Officer of LetsGetChecked, from October 2019 to early 2022. Mr. Maynard was the Chief Financial Officer of Blade Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, from February 2018 to June 2019. Until December 2017, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a public commercial-stage drug development company. He joined Rigel in September 2001 as Corporate Controller and was appointed as an Assistant Secretary in October 2001. In June 2006 he became Rigel’s Vice President of Finance and Acting Chief Financial Officer and became its Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in January 2007. Prior to joining Rigel, Mr. Maynard was Corporate Controller and Director of Finance and Accounting for Personify, Inc., an e-commerce software company, from November 1999 to April 2001. From July 1998 to October 1999 he served as Controller of General Magic, Inc. and from July 1994 to June 1998 he held various positions at Siliconix, Inc., most recently as Senior Finance Manager. He previously worked at Ernst & Young LLP. Mr. Maynard holds a B.S. in Commerce - Accounting from Santa Clara University.

Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Maynard is highly qualified to serve as a member of the Board of Directors because of his extensive experience as the Chief Financial Officer of publicly traded and commercial stage biopharmaceutical companies, as well as his expertise in auditing and financial and other related matters pertaining to the operation of publicly traded pharmaceutical companies.

Merrill A. McPeak. General (Ret.) McPeak joined the Company’s Board of Directors in July 2011. From February 2015 until the appointment of Dr. Dukes as its new Chairman, General McPeak was the lead director on the Company’s Board of Directors. General McPeak also served as the Company’s unpaid, interim Chief Executive Officer from January 14, 2013 until July 24, 2013. General McPeak currently is the President of McPeak and Associates, a consulting firm that he founded in 1995. He has previously served as a director of several public companies, including Tektronix, Inc., Trans World Airlines, Inc., and ECC International Corp., where he was for many years the chairman of the board. General McPeak has served as a director of Research Solutions, Inc., a company engaged in developing systems to reuse published content, since November 2010. He also served on the board of directors of Aerojet Rocketdyne, an aerospace and defense contractor, from March 2013 to May 2019, and on the board of directors of Lilis Energy, an independent oil and gas producer, from January 2015 to April 2018. He was Chairman of the Board of Coast Plating, Inc., a privately held turnkey provider of metal processing and metal finishing services, from January 2009 until the company was acquired by Trive Capital and renamed Valence Surface Technologies. He continued as a director of the company, which became the country’s largest independently owned aerospace and defense metal processing company, until Valence was acquired by another private equity firm in June 2019. He helped found, and from December 2003 to February 2012 was Chairman of the Board of EthicsPoint, Inc., a provider of risk management and compliance software-as-a-service that was acquired in 2012 and restyled Navex Global. General McPeak remained a member of the board of directors of Navex Global until that company was sold in 2014.

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From 1990 until his retirement from active military service in late 1994, General McPeak was Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General McPeak was a military advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States. General McPeak received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from San Diego State College and a Master of Science degree in international relations from the George Washington University, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. From July 2010 to December 2017, General McPeak was Chairman of the American Battlefield Monuments Commission.

Our Board of Directors believes that General McPeak is highly qualified to serve as a member of the Board of Directors because of his extensive leadership experience, including his experience in the military and as a director serving on numerous public and private company boards of directors.

Wayne P. Rothbaum. Mr. Rothbaum joined our Board of Directors in June 2016. Mr. Rothbaum is president of Quogue Capital, a single-family office private equity fund focused on investing and supporting small to midcap life sciences companies. Mr. Rothbaum began his career at The Carson Group, a strategic consulting firm, where he managed its life sciences practice and boutique investment bank Evolution Capital. Following The Carson Group’s sale to Thomson Reuters in 2001, Mr. Rothbaum founded Quogue Capital, through which he has founded and/or invested in numerous private and public life sciences companies. In 2012, Mr. Rothbaum co-founded and was the Executive Chairman of Acerta Pharma, a private life sciences company he later sold to AstraZeneca. Acerta’s lead drug, Calquence® (acalabrutinib) was approved by the FDA for mantle cell lymphoma in 2017 and chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2020. In 2016, Mr. Rothbaum also co-founded Kartos Therapeutics following the in-license of an investigational MDM2 inhibitor from Amgen. More recently, in 2019, he co-founded Telios Pharma after licensing a novel targeted therapy from Merck KGaA to treat selected blood cancers and ophthalmology diseases. Additionally, Mr. Rothbaum has taken a leadership role in transforming the Company, restructuring and reorganizing our Board of Directors, senior management and overall clinical operations and strategy. Currently, Mr. Rothbaum is a board member and our largest shareholder. Mr. Rothbaum graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Binghamton University in 1990 with a dual major in political science and psychology and received his MA in international economics from The George Washington University. He is listed as an inventor on many scientific patents and is published in numerous medical journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Rothbaum is highly qualified to serve as a member of the Board of Directors on the basis of his business background and education, his investment experience as the manager of an investment fund focused on the life sciences industry, and his experience serving in a leadership and management capacity with other biotechnology companies.

Michael Weiser, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Weiser joined the Company’s Board of Directors in March 2018. He is the founder and has been a principal of Actin Biomed LLC since 2006. Actin Biomed is a healthcare investment firm focused on the discovery and development of novel treatments for unmet medical needs. Prior to joining Actin Biomed, Dr. Weiser was the Director of Research at Paramount BioCapital, Inc., a pharmaceutical development and healthcare investment firm. Dr. Weiser previously served as the chairman of the board of directors of Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd., a development stage pharmaceutical company that was acquired by H. Lundbeck A/S in 2014, served on the board of directors of Ziopharm Oncology, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company focused on immunotherapies in oncology and served on the board of directors of Emisphere Technologies, Inc., a pharmaceutical and drug delivery company. Dr. Weiser holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Vermont, received his M.D. from New York University School of Medicine and completed his Ph.D. in Molecular Neurobiology at Cornell University Medical College.

Our Board of Directors believes that Dr. Weiser is highly qualified to serve as a member of the Board of Directors because of his medical and business background and education, his experience serving on boards of directors, and his investment experience as the manager of an investment fund focused on biotechnology companies.

Wendy Yarno. Ms. Yarno retired in September 2008 from Merck & Co., Inc., following a 26-year career there in commercial and human resource positions of increasing seniority, most recently Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer before she retired. In that role, Ms. Yarno led an organization charged with global commercialization strategy and all aspects of supporting pre-and post-launch commercialization of pharmaceuticals in more than 20 therapeutic areas. Ms. Yarno currently serves on the board of directors of publicly traded life sciences companies Ideaya Bio, Inc., Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She formerly served on the boards of St. Jude Medical, Inc., MyoKardia, Inc., Medivation, Inc., Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc., Aratana Therapeutics, Inc., Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and Durata Therapeutics, Inc., prior to their acquisitions. Ms. Yarno received a B.S. in Business Administration from Portland State University and an M.B.A. from Temple University.

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Our Board of Directors believes that Ms. Yarno is highly qualified to serve as a member of the Board of Directors because of her extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including her service in senior management roles and her experience serving on boards of directors. We believe her experience makes her a valuable asset to the Board of Directors.

Director Independence

Our Board of Directors has determined that each of our current directors qualify as “independent directors” as defined under the applicable Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Rules and the rules of the SEC, satisfy the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and have no material relationships with us (either directly or as a partner, stockholder or officer of any entity) that are inconsistent with a finding of their independence as members of our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Maynard, General McPeak and Dr. Weiser, the current members of our Audit Committee, also are “independent” for purposes of service as the members of our Audit Committee.

Board Diversity Matrix

The tables below provide certain highlights of the composition of our Board of Directors as of the Record Date and as of the record date for our 2022 annual meeting of stockholders. Each of the categories listed in the below table has the meaning as it is used in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(f). Our Board of Directors is committed to having a diversified board, including diversity of thought, background and experience, and diversity of personal characteristics such as gender identity, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

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Corporate Governance Highlights at a Glance

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Director Nominations Process

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee administers our director nominations process and establishes criteria for Board of Directors member candidates and the process by which candidates for inclusion in our recommended slate of director nominees are selected. The Committee’s charter is available under the “Investors” section of our website at www.iovance.com, under “Corporate Governance — Governance Highlights.”

Minimum Criteria for Board of Directors Members. Under the director nominations process, each Board of Directors candidate must possess at least the following specific minimum qualifications:

Desirable Qualities and Skills. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also considers it desirable that each candidate should:

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Internal Process for Identifying Candidates. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has two primary methods for identifying Board of Directors candidates. On a periodic basis, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may solicit suggestions for possible candidates from a number of sources, which may include members of the Board of Directors, our senior executives, individuals personally known to members of the Board of Directors, and independent research by either members of the Board of Directors or our senior executives. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may also use its authority under its Charter to retain at the Company’s expense one or more search firms to identify candidates. If a search firm is used, it may be asked to identify possible candidates who meet minimum and desired qualifications; interview and screen candidates and conduct appropriate background and reference checks; act as a liaison among the Board of Directors, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and the candidate during the screening and evaluation process; and be available for consultation as needed by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has the authority under its Charter to approve such firms’ fees and other retention terms.

Nomination of Directors by Stockholders. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will also consider properly submitted stockholder nominations for candidates for membership on the Board of Directors. Any of our stockholders may recommend one or more eligible persons for election as a director at an Annual Meeting of Stockholders if the stockholder provides the recommendation to our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days and not more than 120 days prior to the anniversary of the date of the proxy statement released to stockholders in connection with the previous year’s annual meeting. In the event that we set an annual stockholders meeting date that is not within 30 days before or after the date of the immediately preceding annual stockholders meeting, the stockholder’s recommendation must be received no later than the close of business on the tenth day following the day on which notice of the date of the annual meeting was mailed or public disclosure of that date was made, whichever occurs first. To be eligible for consideration, a candidate proposed by a stockholder must be independent of the stockholder providing the nomination in all respects, as determined by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee or by applicable law, qualify as an “independent director” under The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Rules and meet the Minimum Criteria for Board of Directors Members set forth above.

Evaluation of Candidates. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider all candidates identified through the processes described above, and will evaluate each of them, including incumbents, based on the same criteria. If, based on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s or other director’s initial evaluation, a candidate continues to be of interest, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Chair or one or more other directors will interview the candidate and communicate the interviewer(s)’ evaluation to the other Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee member(s), the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer, and the independent members of the Board of Directors. Later reviews will be conducted by other members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, the Board of Directors and senior management. Ultimately, background and reference checks will be conducted, and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will meet to finalize its list of recommended candidates for the Board of Directors’ consideration.

Timing of the Identification and Evaluation Process. Our fiscal year is the calendar year. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee expects generally to meet one or more times to consider, among other things, candidates to be recommended to the Board of Directors for inclusion in our recommended slate of director nominees for the next annual meeting and our Proxy Statement. Our Board of Directors usually meets each March or early April and at that meeting approves, among other things, the slate of director nominees to be submitted to and recommended for election by stockholders at the annual meeting, which is typically held in May or June. All candidates, whether identified internally or by a nomination received from a stockholder, who after evaluation are recommended by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the independent members of the Board of Directors, and approved by the Board of Directors, will be included in our recommended slate of director nominees in our Proxy Statement.

Meetings of the Board of Directors

The property, affairs and business of our Company are conducted under the supervision and management of our Board of Directors, as called for under the laws of Delaware and our bylaws. Pursuant to our bylaws, our Board of Directors may establish committees of one or more directors from time to time, as it deems appropriate.

Our common stock currently is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market. A majority of our directors currently are “independent directors” as defined under The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Rules, which define an “independent director” as “a person other than an executive officer or employee of the Company or any other individual having a relationship which, in the opinion of the Company’s board of directors, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director.” The

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definition further provides that, among others, employment of a director by us (or any parent or subsidiary of ours) at any time during the past three years is considered a bar to independence regardless of the determination of our Board of Directors.

Our Board of Directors has determined that, for the purposes of serving on our Board of Directors for 2023, all of our directors are “independent” under The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Rules.

Our Board of Directors held five meetings during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, which included meetings of the non-executive directors of the Board of Directors. Each director attended at least 75% of the aggregate of the total meetings of the Board of Directors that were held during the portion of the 2022 fiscal year in which he/she served as a director. Our Board of Directors has also acted by written consent multiple times during 2022.

Executive Sessions

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors and for each meeting of a standing committee of the Board of Directors, an executive session was held.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and Compensation Committee. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, the Audit Committee held four meetings, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee held two meetings and the Compensation Committee held two meetings. The standing committees of the Board of Directors also acted by written consent multiple times during 2022.

Current committee memberships are as follows:

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee currently consists of:

Ryan Maynard (Chair)

Merrill A. McPeak

Michael Weiser, M.D., Ph.D.

The Audit Committee operates pursuant to a written charter. Among other things, the Audit Committee is responsible for:

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As of the date of this proxy statement, Mr. Maynard, Dr. Weiser, and General McPeak constitute all of the members of the Audit Committee. All of the members of the Audit Committee are non-employee directors and independent as defined under The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Rules. Mr. Maynard is a former chief financial officer of a public company, Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he served in that role for more than 10 years. Because of his knowledge of financial, audit and accounting matters, our Board of Directors has designated him as the “audit committee financial expert” of the Audit Committee.

The Audit Committee operates pursuant to a written charter, which is available under the “Investors” section of our website, www.iovance.com, under “Corporate Governance — Governance Highlights”.

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee currently consists of:

Michael Weiser, M.D., Ph.D. (Chair)

Athena Countouriotis, M.D.

Merrill A. McPeak

Wayne P. Rothbaum

The Compensation Committee is responsible for the compensation of our executives and directors. As part of its responsibilities, the Compensation Committee has the following duties and responsibilities:

As part of its other responsibilities, the Compensation Committee reviews and approves any reports required by the SEC for inclusion in the annual report and proxy statement, provides general oversight of our compensation structure, and, if deemed necessary, retains and approves the terms of the retention of compensation consultants and other compensation experts. Other specific duties and responsibilities of the Compensation Committee include reviewing the performance of executive officers; reviewing and approving objectives relevant to executive officer compensation; administering our equity-based and incentive compensation plans; and establishing compensation policies and practices for service on our Board of Directors and its committees and for the Chairman of our Board of Directors.

In the Compensation Committee’s sole discretion, the Committee has the authority to retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other advisor after taking into consideration the independence of such compensation consultant, legal counsel or other advisor. Our Compensation Committee requires any compensation consultant, legal counsel or other advisor retained by the Compensation Committee, or who otherwise provides advice to the Compensation Committee, to be independent.

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The Compensation Committee has granted our Chief Executive Officer the authority to grant equity to (i) newly hired non-executive employees, and (ii) non-executive employees as part of our annual performance review. The Compensation Committee has established certain parameters within which non-executive equity may be granted by our Chief Executive Officer.

The Compensation Committee is responsible for developing employment compensation policies for our Company, including ensuring that the policies are sufficiently attractive to retain our Company’s existing employees and to incentivize prospective employees. For a description of the processes and procedures used by the Compensation Committee for the consideration and determination of executive and director compensation, see “Executive Compensation-Compensation Discussion and Analysis.”

Our Board of Directors has determined that each of the current members of the Compensation Committee is “independent” under the current independence standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Rules.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee currently consists of:

Merrill A. McPeak (Chair)

Athena Countouriotis, M.D.

Wendy Dixon, Ph.D.

Michael Weiser, M.D., Ph.D.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee recommends candidates to be nominated for election as directors at our annual meeting, consistent with criteria approved by our Board of Directors; develops and regularly reviews corporate governance principles and related policies for approval by our Board of Directors; oversees the organization of our Board of Directors to discharge its duties and responsibilities properly and efficiently; and sees that proper attention is given and effective responses are made to stockholder concerns regarding corporate governance. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also oversees an annual assessment by the Board of Directors of its performance. In addition, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees succession planning for executive officers in conjunction with the Board of Directors.

Usually, nominees for election to our Board of Directors are proposed by our existing directors. In identifying and evaluating individuals qualified to become Board of Directors members, our current directors will consider such factors as they deem appropriate to assist in developing a Board of Directors and committees thereof that are diverse in nature and comprised of experienced and seasoned advisors. Our Board of Directors has not adopted a formal policy with regard to the consideration of diversity, other than as may be prescribed by law, when evaluating candidates for election to our Board of Directors. However, our Board of Directors believes that membership should reflect diversity in its broadest sense, but should not be chosen nor excluded based on race, color, gender, national origin or sexual orientation. In this context, our Board of Directors does consider a candidate’s experience, education, industry knowledge, history with the Company, independence, and differences of viewpoint when evaluating his or her qualifications for election to our Board of Directors. In evaluating such candidates, our Board of Directors seeks to achieve a balance of knowledge, experience and capability in its composition. In connection with this evaluation, our Board of Directors determines whether to interview the prospective nominee, and if warranted, one or more directors interview prospective nominees in person or by telephone.

Scientific Committee

In October 2020, the Board of Directors formed an ad hoc committee, which we refer to as the Scientific Committee, consisting of Mr. Rothbaum and Dr. Weiser as the two directors on this committee and other members and consultants. The Scientific Committee is primarily responsible for providing management hands-on guidance for regulatory affairs and clinical development matters, reviewing the Company’s regulatory strategy and any material filings and communications with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) regarding any of the Company’s clinical programs. The Scientific Committee will remain active until such time as the Board of Directors decides to disband this committee if and when it is no longer needed. The Scientific Committee remained active throughout the year ended December 31, 2022 and continues to remain active into 2023.

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Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight

Our Board of Directors believes it is important to select the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in the manner it considers in the best interests of the Company at any given time. Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer positions are filled by two different individuals, allowing for greater independence between the Board of Directors and management.

Our Board of Directors is currently comprised entirely of individuals who are independent from the management of the Company and, assuming that the nominees are elected at the Annual Meeting, all members of our Board of Directors will continue to be independent directors. Our Board of Directors and its committees meet regularly throughout the year to assure that the independent directors are well briefed and informed with regard to the Company’s affairs. Each of the independent directors has access to the executive officers of the Company. In this fashion, we seek to maintain well informed, independent directors who are prepared to make informed decisions regarding our business affairs.

Management is responsible for the day-to-day management of risks the Company faces, while our Board of Directors as a whole plays an important role in overseeing the identification, assessment and mitigation of such risks. Our Board of Directors reviews information regarding the Company’s finances and operations, as well as the risks associated with each. For example, the oversight of financial risk management lies primarily with the Audit Committee, which is empowered to appoint and oversee our independent auditors, monitor the integrity of our financial reporting processes and systems of internal controls and provide an avenue of communication among our independent auditors, management and our Board of Directors. The Compensation Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of risks relating to the Company’s compensation plans and arrangements. In fulfilling its risk oversight responsibility, our Board of Directors, as a whole and acting through any established committees, consults with management to evaluate and, when appropriate, modify our risk management strategies.

Stockholder Communication with Members of the Board of Directors

Stockholders who wish to communicate with members of our Board of Directors may contact us at our principal executive office at 825 Industrial Road, Suite 400, San Carlos, California 94070. Written communications specifically marked as a communication for our Board of Directors, or a particular director, except those that are clearly marketing or soliciting materials, will be forwarded unopened to Dr. Dukes, currently the Chairman of our Board of Directors, or to the particular director to whom they are addressed, or presented to the full Board of Directors or the particular director at the next regularly scheduled Board of Directors meeting.

Board of Directors Members’ Attendance at Annual Meetings

It is the Company’s policy to request that each director and director nominee attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders. In light of the public health impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”), virtual attendance of our directors at our Annual Meeting was permitted in 2022 and continues to be permitted in 2023.

Code of Ethics

Our Board of Directors has adopted a Code of Conduct and Ethics that applies to our officers, directors and employees (“Code of Ethics”). A copy of our Code of Ethics will be furnished without charge to any person upon written request. Requests should be sent to: Corporate Secretary, Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc., 825 Industrial Road, Suite 400, San Carlos, California 94070. Our Code of Ethics is also available under the “Investors” section of our website, www.iovance.com, under “Corporate Governance — Governance Highlights”.

Commitment to Corporate Responsibility

Our corporate responsibility is fundamental to our long-term success, as well as our commitment to healthcare for cancer patients in need of new treatment options. It is also now more than ever important to our stakeholders. We have a strong commitment to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues and to adding to these efforts as we grow. We will continue to focus on ESG issues during 2023.

Positive Working Environment. Managing our people responsibly and respectfully is critical to the ongoing success of our business. We promote safety, health, and wellbeing in the workplace. We strive to equip our people with the right skills to perform

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their roles, and we provide development initiatives and opportunity for our staff. We recognize their contributions to our business success in a diverse and inclusive environment in which each team member plays a unique and vital role. Executive management teams, each including a senior human resources (“HR”) professional, are accountable for implementing HR practices that fulfill our employment responsibilities, provide a supportive and inclusive environment, and support our business strategy.

Diversity. We believe that a diverse workforce not only positively impacts our performance and strengthens our culture, but it also cultivates an essential pipeline of experienced leaders for management. Hiring for diversity of thought, background, experience, as well as personal characteristics such as gender identity, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, continues to be an area of focus as we grow our company. In 2022, our employee population increased by 58%. As of March 14, 2023 women remained a majority of the workforce, making up approximately 54% of our workforce and constituting approximately 57% of management. We are also committed to building a racially and ethnically diverse workforce. As of March 14, 2023, racially diverse employees (those self-identifying as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, or being two or more races) make up approximately 47% of our global workforce and approximately 41% of management (six of our employees declined to self-identify, or otherwise did not provide us with this information).

Ethics and Corporate Governance. We aspire to maintain the highest ethical standards. All of our employees are required to adhere to our Iovance Code of Conduct and Ethics, which provides, among other things, that all of our employees, officers and directors must (i) be truthful and honest both internally and in our business dealings with each other, and (ii) make all decisions responsibly, constructively and equitably without bias as to race, color creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, veteran’s status or membership in any other protected class or receipt of public assistance.

Environment, Health & Safety. We believe that health and safety are everyone’s responsibility. Iovance aspires to operate an integrated Environment, Health, and Safety Management System that ensures its facilities operate to internationally recognized standards. This framework includes compliance with government regulations and commitments to continuously improve the health and safety of the workforce as well as minimizing the impact of the operations on the environment. We strive for an injury-free workplace and we are commited to prevention programs that promise strong performance in all our operations. We continue to make progress on defining our key performance indicators for safety, measured by tracking several indicators, including but not limited to,injury and illness rates, such as lost workday incidents, days away from work and recordable incidents. During 2022, Iovance had an overall recordable incident rate of 0.61 with zero lost workday cases. We have also set and achieved goals for zero fatalities, zero safety violations, and zero fines.

Our comprehensive Environment, Health, and Safety (“EHS”) program focuses risk mitigation by identifying, assessing, and correcting hazards. In 2022, Iovance began using incident management software to enable an integrated company-wide solution for incident reporting, investigation, and root cause analysis incidents. The approach not only improves visibility and efficiency, but it also means all Iovance personnel will be able to learn from any incident.

Access to controlled areas is dependent on the employee’s role, training, and business need, a policy that protects both employee safety and laboratory and manufacturing integrity. In addition, we are forming emergency response teams at each location to account for all employees at Iovance buildings during an emergency evacuation. We offer regular training on the use of fire extinguishers, First Aid, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automatic External Defibrillator. Additional trainings are assigned to employees based on their job duties and may include topics such as bloodborne pathogens, hazardous waste management, electrical safety, and control of hazardous energy.

As part of the EHS program, each site is forming a cross-functional EHS committee to review and analyze safety metrics and incidents to identify potential trends, provide feedback on action plans, and drive EHS initiatives to increase awareness and improve performance. Each EHS committee has membership from different functions and levels in the organization and is supervised by a Site Leadership Council that reviews safety metrics, incidents, and EHS committee performance on at least a quarterly basis.

Environmental Impacts. At Iovance, we recognize the importance of conducting our operations in an environmentally responsible manner. Our goal is to have zero accidental releases, non-compliances, and fines. During this reporting period, Iovance achieved compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations. There is shared accountability for EHS, headed by the Director of Environment, Health, and Safety and overseen by members of our senior management team, partnering with site level EHS professionals. We continue to develop our environmental indicators as we move toward tracking and trending our waste recycling rate, total waste, energy and water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.

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As we expand our operations and facility footprint, we have initiated projects to track our environmental impact, which may include measures to increase our sustainability and minimize our environmental footprint. We are also exploring energy efficient projects to lower energy use within our office areas and laboratories. The core and shell of the Iovance Cell Therapy Center (the “iCTC”), our manufacturing facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as our new corporate headquarters in San Carlos, California, received LEED Gold certification, indicating compliance with certain robust environmentally sustainable practices. The iCTC also includes adjacent green space and outdoor retention basins to promote a green environment.

We have also committed to reduce, reuse or recycle. Since 2021 and to date, we have undertaken several recycling programs, including:

Director Compensation

We believe that a combination of cash and equity compensation is appropriate to attract and retain the individuals we desire to serve on our Board of Directors and that this approach is comparable to the policies of our peer companies. Our cash compensation policies are designed to encourage frequent and active interaction between directors and our executives both during and between formal meetings as well as compensate our directors for their time and effort. Further, we believe it is important to align the long-term interests of our non-employee directors with those of the Company and its stockholders, and that awarding equity compensation to, and thereby increasing ownership of our common stock by, our non-employee directors is an appropriate means to achieve this alignment.

In 2022, our non-employee directors received an annual cash retainer in addition to equity compensation for their services on the Board of Directors and standing committees , as set forth in further detail in the table below. Our non-employee directors do not receive fringe or other benefits. We are currently reviewing our director compensation program and anticipate that non-employee director compensation will remain the same in 2023.

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The table below shows the compensation received by each of our non-employee directors during 2022 for serving on the Board of Directors and on its committees.

Director Compensation Table

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Report of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors

The Audit Committee provides assistance to our Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibility to the Company’s stockholders, potential stockholders, the investment community, and others relating to our financial statements and the financial reporting process, the systems of internal accounting and financial controls, the internal audit function, the annual independent audit of our financial statements and the ethics programs when established by our management and our Board of Directors. The Audit Committee has the sole authority (subject to stockholder ratification) to appoint or replace the outside auditors and is directly responsible for determining the compensation of the independent auditors. In discharging its oversight role, the Audit Committee is empowered to investigate any matter brought to its attention, with full access to all of our books, records, facilities and personnel, and to retain its own legal counsel and other advisers as it deems necessary or appropriate.

As part of its oversight of our financial statements, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed with both management and our outside auditors our interim financial statements and annual audited financial statements that are included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K, respectively. The Audit Committee held four meetings during the fiscal year ended

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December 31, 2022, including regular meetings in conjunction with the close of each fiscal quarter, during which the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed the Company’s financial statements with management and Ernst & Young LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. These Audit Committee meetings routinely include executive sessions of the committee, as well as private sessions with Ernst & Young LLP. Our management advised the Audit Committee in each case that all such financial statements were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and reviewed significant accounting issues with the Audit Committee. These reviews included discussion with the outside auditors of matters required to be discussed by Auditing Standard 1301, “Communications with Audit Committees,” issued by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Ernst & Young LLP did not have any financial interest, direct or indirect, in our Company, and did not have any connection with our Company except in its professional capacity as our independent auditors.

The Audit Committee discussed with Ernst & Young LLP, the auditors of our 2022 financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, matters relating to its independence, including a review of audit and non-audit fees and the letter and written disclosures made by Ernst & Young LLP to the Audit Committee pursuant to Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) Rule 3526.

Audit and non-audit services to be provided by Ernst & Young LLP in 2023 for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, are subject to the prior approval of the Audit Committee. In general, the Audit Committee’s policy is to grant such approval where it determines that the non-audit services are compatible with maintaining the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence and there are cost or other efficiencies in obtaining such services from the independent registered public accounting firm as compared to other possible providers.

Taking all of these reviews and discussions into account, the Audit Committee recommended to our Board of Directors that our Board of Directors approve the inclusion of our audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on February 28, 2023.

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AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ryan Maynard (Chair)
Merrill McPeak

Michael Weiser, M.D., Ph.D.

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

Other than employment agreements with our named executive officers and other payments made to our named executive officers, all as described below under the section entitled “Executive Compensation,” and compensation paid to directors as described above in the section titled “Director Compensation,” there were no related party transactions since January 1, 2022 to which we have been a party, and in which (i) the amounts involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000, and (ii) our directors and named executive officers or holders of more than 5% of our common stock, or any member of the immediate family of the foregoing persons or entities affiliated with them, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

Policies and Procedures for the Review and Approval of Transactions with Related Persons

Our Audit Committee’s charter requires the Audit Committee to review and approve any related- person transactions. In considering related-person transactions, our Audit Committee considers the relevant available facts and circumstances, including, but not limited to, (i) the risks, costs and benefits to us, (ii) the impact on a director’s independence in the event the related party is a director, immediate family member of a director or an entity with which a director is affiliated, (iii) the terms of the transaction, (iv) the availability of other sources for comparable services or products, and (v) the terms available to or from, as the case may be, unrelated third parties or to or from employees generally. In the event a director has an interest in the proposed transaction, the director must recuse himself or herself from the deliberations and approval. In determining whether to approve, ratify or reject a related-person transaction, our Audit Committee evaluates whether, in light of known circumstances, the transaction is in, or is not inconsistent with, our best interests and those of our stockholders.

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SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the Record Date by (i) each person who is known by us to own more than 5% of the outstanding common stock; (ii) each of our directors and director nominees; (iii) each of our named executive officers listed in the “Compensation of Executive Officers” table; and (iv) all of our current named executive officers and directors as a group. This table is based upon information supplied by officers, directors and principal stockholders and Schedules 13D and 13G and amendments thereto filed with the SEC. Unless otherwise indicated below, to our knowledge, the persons and entities named in the table have sole voting and sole investment power with respect to all shares that they beneficially owned, subject to community property laws where applicable. As of the Record Date, a total of 224,358,979 shares of common stock were outstanding, a total of 194 shares of Series A Preferred, convertible into 97,000 shares of common stock, were outstanding, and a total of 2,842,158 shares of Series B Preferred, convertible into 2,842,158 shares of common stock, were outstanding. Our shares of Series A Preferred and Series B Preferred do not have voting rights.

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EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

The following table summarizes, as of December 31, 2022, (i) the number of shares of our common stock that are issuable under our equity compensation plans upon the exercise of outstanding options, stock awards and other rights, (ii) the weighted-average exercise price of such options and rights, and (iii) the number of securities remaining available for future issuance under our equity compensation plans.

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Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our Company’s executive officers and directors, and persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of our Company’s equity securities, to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. Executive officers, directors and greater than 10% stockholders are required by SEC regulations to furnish our Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file.

SEC regulations require us to identify in this proxy statement anyone who filed a required report late during the most recent fiscal year. Based solely on our review of forms we received, or written representations from reporting persons stating that they were not required to file these forms, we believe that during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, all filings required under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, were filed in a timely manner.

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MANAGEMENT

Current Executive Officers

The following table sets forth information regarding our current executive officers as of the Record Date.

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Frederick G. Vogt, Ph.D., J.D. Dr. Vogt was named the Interim Chief Executive Officer and President on June 19, 2021. He originally joined the Company in September 2016, and has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining Iovance, Dr. Vogt practiced law at the international firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, focusing on intellectual property and business law in the life sciences and representing clients in patent strategy, transactional, and litigation matters.

Previously he served in numerous scientific, management, and legal roles of increasing responsibility over a period of 13 years at GlaxoSmithKline, where he focused primarily on oncology and cardiovascular drug development. While at GSK, Dr. Vogt made contributions to the development and approval of Hycamtin®️, Votrient®️, Tafinlar®️, and Mekinist®️. Dr. Vogt holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Ursinus College, a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Pennsylvania State University, and a J.D. from Temple University. He has authored or co-authored more than 70 research papers and book chapters and is a co-inventor of numerous patent applications in the drug development and life sciences fields. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Jean-Marc Bellemin. Mr. Bellemin has served as Chief Financial Officer of the Company since December 2020. Previously, Mr. Bellemin served as Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Gritstone Oncology, Inc., a publicly traded company developing cancer immunotherapies, from January 2018 to November 2020. Prior to Gritstone, from January 2008 to December 2017, Mr. Bellemin served as Senior Vice President, Market Access, Business Solutions and Services of Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc. (“Actelion”), a commercial stage biotechnology company, until Actelion was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2017. Prior to Actelion, Mr. Bellemin held several financial leadership roles at Guerbet Group. Mr. Bellemin received a two-year university degree in economics, a master’s degree in finance from Université Paris Dauphine, a postgraduate degree in finance and accounting from Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas and an M.B.A. from the ESSEC Business School in Paris, France.

Friedrich Graf Finckenstein, M.D. Dr. Graf Finckenstein joined the Company as our Chief Medical Officer in July 2019. Dr. Graf Finckenstein is a physician-scientist with decades of experience in clinical medicine, laboratory cancer research, and drug development in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Iovance he was Global Head of Oncology Translational Medicine at Roche Pharma Research and Early Development in Basel, Switzerland, where he led all clinical development aspects in the Oncology Discovery and Translational Area, including the design and conduct of clinical trials, exploratory development studies and translational medicine, biomarker and personalized healthcare strategy. Prior to that, Dr. Graf Finckenstein held multiple clinical leadership roles at Bristol-Meyers Squibb Company, where he worked on an array of products from early clinical development to late stage, including key contributions to the approval of Opdivo^® in lung cancer. Dr. Graf Finckenstein has a medical degree from the University of Hamburg in Germany. He holds a German medical license, a pediatric board certification, and has conducted basic cancer research at the Ludwig Institute, San Diego Branch, the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Hamburg.

Igor Bilinsky, Ph.D. Dr. Bilinsky joined the Company in March 2021 as our Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Bilinsky has more than 20 years of cumulative leadership experience through prior roles as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Business Officer at companies within the life sciences industry. Prior to joining the Company, Dr. Bilinsky served as Chief Business Officer of Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc., from September 2019 to March 2021. From January 2017 to January 2019, Dr. Bilinsky served as Chief Operating Officer of AmpliPhi Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company developing targeted therapies for patients with life-threatening bacterial infections. From September 2015 to January 2017, he was General Manager, Immuno-Oncology, and Senior Vice President, Special Operations and Research Operations, at Ignyta, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on precision medicine in oncology that was acquired by Roche. His prior experience also includes senior executive roles at Vical and Halozyme Therapeutics, and Chief Executive Officer at Androclus Therapeutics. He also served as a principal in the healthcare practice of Boston Consulting Group. Dr. Bilinsky received a B.S. in physics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

This Compensation Discussion and Analysis describes our compensation strategy, philosophy, policies, programs, and practices for our Named Executive Officers, or NEOs, and the executive positions they held in 2022 as set forth below:

Our Named Executive Officers for 2022

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2022 to 2023 Performance Highlights

Our mission is to be the global leader in innovating, developing and delivering TIL therapy for patients with cancer. We are pioneering this transformational approach to cure cancer by harnessing the human immune system’s ability to recognize and destroy diverse cancer cells in each patient. We are committed to continuous innovation in developing TIL therapy and optimizing the TIL treatment regimen that may extend and improve life for patients with cancer.

The following is an overview of our key 2022-2023 performance highlights in support of our mission:

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Compensation Policies and Practices at a Glance

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Our Executive Officer Compensation Objectives & Philosophy

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Elements of Executive Officer Compensation

Our 2022 compensation program is made up of the following three direct compensation elements:

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Mix of Executive Officer Compensation

Our Compensation Committee does not have any formal policies for allocating compensation among our three primary compensation elements. Rather, our Compensation Committee uses its judgment to determine the appropriate level and mix of compensation on an annual basis with the goal to balance current cash compensation with equity awards to reward both short-term and long-term performance. In addition, we believe that our executive officer compensation programs should be focused on performance- and stock price-variable compensation elements. For 2022, the mix of compensation at target for our executive officers was as follows:

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Role of the Compensation Committee, Management and Consultant

Compensation Committee

Our Compensation Committee is primarily responsible for reviewing executive officer compensation policies and practices to ensure adherence to our compensation philosophy and objectives and that the total compensation paid to our executive officers is consistent with our performance, fair, reasonable and competitive with companies within our industry. Our Compensation Committee’s primary responsibilities include:

Senior Management

Our Chief Executive Officer has the following primary responsibilities:

Independent Compensation Consultant

As part of the executive compensation process, the Compensation Committee engaged Haigh & Company (“Haigh”) as its compensation consultant. The Compensation Committee has assessed Haigh’s independence pursuant to SEC and Nasdaq listing rules and concluded that no conflict of interest exists that would prevent Haigh from independently advising the Compensation Committee. Haigh provides us advisory services only with respect to executive and director compensation and works with management only with the approval and under the direction of the Compensation Committee. In 2022, Haigh’s primary responsibilities included:

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Compensation Determination Process

We conduct an annual review of named executive officer compensation. Our Compensation Committee then meets to establish year-end compensation for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. At the Compensation Committee’s direction, the below is reviewed:

As part of the compensation review, our Compensation Committee also considers changes to an executive officer’s compensation. The Compensation Committee in its discretion may make its own revisions or make recommendations to our Board of Directors, which may in turn suggest further revisions. The Compensation Committee reviews each performance goal and determines the extent to which we achieved such goals. For a description of some of the goals established for 2022, see “2022 Named Executive Officer Compensation” below.

The Compensation Committee recommends to our Board of Directors year-end annual equity grants to our Chief Executive Officer. The Compensation Committee also grants year-end equity to other named executive officers based on, among other factors, recommendations by our Chief Executive Officer.

Peer and Industry Data and Use of Peer Groups and Industry Surveys

The Compensation Committee approves a peer group of companies as a reference group to provide a broad perspective on competitive pay levels and practices. In determining our peer companies, the Compensation Committee considers Company-specific factors, including growth, state of development of our clinical programs, and growth in our headcount and changes in our market capitalization. With reference to these and other key business metrics, the Compensation Committee selects publicly traded U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with comparable operations in the U.S. based on the following criteria which were substantially the same for both the 2022 and 2023 peer groups:

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2022 Peer Group

At its November 19, 2021 meeting, the Compensation Committee approved the peer group for determining the competitiveness of 2021 compensation and setting compensation for 2022 based on its discussions with Haigh and considering changes in the Company’s profile.

Using the criteria identified above, the Compensation Committee identified the following 16 peer companies:

2023 Peer Group

The Compensation Committee approved the peer group for determining the competitiveness of 2022 compensation and setting compensation for 2023 based on its discussions with Haigh and considering changes in the Company’s profile.

Using these criteria referenced above, the Compensation Committee identified the following 17 peer companies:

In addition to the compensation data of our peer group, our Compensation Committee and Haigh review industry specific, broad-based compensation surveys. In 2021 and 2022, as in previous years, the Aon/Radford Global Life Science survey was used to supplement the peer company market data.

Benchmarking in the Context of Our Other Executive Compensation Principles

Our Compensation Committee and our Board of Directors use market data as one means of evaluating and establishing executive pay. In instances where an executive officer is believed to be especially suited to our Company or important to our success, the Compensation Committee may establish or recommend compensation that deviates from industry averages or other specific benchmarks. Upward or downward variations in total cash compensation and long-term incentives may also occur as a result of the individual’s experience level, the nature and level of the individual’s specific job responsibilities, the balance of the individual’s different elements of compensation, market factors and other strategic considerations.

Our Compensation Committee believes that, given the competitiveness of our industry and our corporate culture, our base compensation, annual cash bonuses and equity programs are flexible enough to reward the achievement of clearly defined corporate

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goals and are sufficient to retain our existing executive officers and to hire new executive officers with the appropriate qualifications and experience.

2022 Named Executive Officer Compensation

Base Salary

On January 16, 2022, after reviewing the competitive position versus our peer companies and performance of the Named Executive Officers in 2021, our Compensation Committee approved a 30% salary increase for Dr. Vogt resulting in a 2022 base salary of $650,000 (which was also in consideration of Dr. Vogt’s continued service as the Interim Chief Executive Officer), a 17% salary increase for Dr. Graf Finckenstein resulting in a 2022 base salary of $550,000, an 11% salary increase for Mr. Bellemin resulting in a 2022 base salary of $500,000, and an 11% salary increase for Dr. Bilinsky resulting in a 2022 base salary of $500,000.

Equity Awards

The Compensation Committee also approved the following stock option and stock awards that were granted on January 14, 2022. Although these awards are granted in part based on 2021 performance the values of these stock options and stock awards will not be disclosed in our executive compensation tables until our 2023 proxy statement:

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Annual Incentive Awards

Our annual bonus program is an important component of our executive and employee compensation program as awards are tied directly to the achievement of our annual performance objectives. Target annual incentives are stated as a percent of base salary and are intended to provide a competitive annual target total cash opportunity consistent with our performance versus our annual objectives.

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The corporate goals and objectives for fiscal year 2022 were based on meeting certain goals with respect to the Company’s clinical, research and development, operational and financial performance as follows: (i) advancing lifileucel for patients with melanoma toward BLA submission and commercial launch; (ii) completing certain late-stage clinical milestones; (iii) completing early stage clinical development milestones; (iv) achieving certain publication in a high-impact medical journal and presentation at major conference goals; and (v) managing the Company’s budget within targeted range.

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At its March 2, 2023 meeting, the Compensation Committee, in consultation with the Board of Directors reviewed the Company’s progress against its corporate goals and objectives, and upon the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, determined that the Company met 90% of its 2022 corporate goals. The Compensation Committee also approved an additional 10% corporate achievement for extraordinary effors by the NEOs to maintain the proposed timeline for the submission of our BLA for lifileucel to the FDA. Additionally, our NEOs were eligible for adjustments based on their individual performance ratings for fiscal year 2022. Adjustments were determined and approved by the Compensation Committee for Dr. Vogt, and by Dr. Vogt and the Compensation Committee for the other NEOs. Based on these assessments, the Compensation Committee approved the payment of the following bonuses for 2022 performance:

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Other Compensation Elements

Retirement Plans, Perquisites and Other Personal Benefits

Our named executive officers are eligible to participate in the employee benefit plans on the same terms and conditions as they are available to our other regular employees. These benefits include medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, employee stock purchase plan and a 401(k) plan.

Under the tax-qualified employee savings and retirement plan, our 401(k) plan, all eligible U.S. employees, including our named executive officers, may elect to defer a percentage of their eligible compensation in our 401(k) plan, subject to the annual IRS limit. In 2022, we matched 100% of the employee contributions up to 4% of annual eligible compensation. The 2022 matching contributions made under the Safe Harbor Matching Contribution are fully vested.

We do not provide perquisites or other personal benefits to our named executive officers other than those that we provide to our employees. We do not provide any tax reimbursement payments (including “gross- ups”) on any personal benefits, except in the case of certain relocation benefits and discretionary non-recurring spot-bonuses to non-executive employees.

Discretionary and Sign-On Cash Bonuses

From time to time, we may pay cash bonuses to employees upon the successful completion of certain projects. We may also pay sign-on bonuses to aid in recruiting or relocating certain key employees.

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Employment Agreements and Termination Benefits

We have entered into written employment agreements with each of our current and former named executive officers. The main purpose of these agreements is to protect our Company from business risks such as competition for each named executive officer’s service, loss of confidential information or trade secrets, solicitation of our other employees, and to define our respective rights to terminate the employment relationship. Each of these employment agreements can be terminated by either party at any time. Each employment agreement was individually negotiated, so there are some variations in the terms among named executive officers. Generally speaking, however, the employment agreements provide for termination and severance benefits that the Compensation Committee believes are consistent with industry practices for similarly situated executives. The Compensation Committee believes that the termination and severance benefits help the Company retain the named executive officers by providing them with a competitive employment arrangement and compensation for termination of their employment by us without “cause.”

The specific terms of the termination and change of control arrangements, as well as an estimate of the compensation that would have been payable had such provisions been triggered as of the end of 2022, are described in detail in the section below entitled “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change of Control.”

Equity Grant Practices

We typically grant equity awards upon an employee’s hire. In addition, equity awards may also be granted annually soon after the end of our fiscal year. Stock options or restricted stock unit awards granted by the Company generally vest over three years and stock options have a ten-year contractual term. Unless otherwise agreed to by us with respect to a termination without “cause” or for “good reason,” vesting rights generally cease upon termination of employment and employees have three months in which to exercise vested options, except in the case of death, disability or retirement (subject to a one-year limitation).

We grant stock options at an exercise price and restricted stock units with a grant price equal to the closing price on the Nasdaq Global Market of our common stock on the date of the grant. Our Board of Directors has delegated to our Chief Executive Officer the ability to grant equity awards to non-executive employees upon joining our Company, and to make grants during each annual non-executive employee review cycle. Our Board of Directors has reviewed and approved both the total number of shares that our Chief Executive Officer can grant under such equity awards, and the range of shares subject to such grants based on each employee’s position and organization level with the Company.

We have no program, practice or plan to grant stock options or restricted stock awards, in coordination with the release of material nonpublic information. We also have not timed the release of material nonpublic information for the purpose of affecting the value of stock options or other compensation, and we have no plan to do so. We have no policy regarding the adjustment or recovery of stock option awards in connection with the restatement of our financial statements, as our stock option awards have not been tied to the achievement of specific financial statement goals.

2023 Named Executive Officer Compensation

Base Salary

On March 2, 2023, after reviewing the competitive position versus our peer companies and performance of the NEOs in 2022, our Compensation Committee approved (retroactively to January 1, 2023) a 6.5% salary increase for Dr. Vogt resulting in a 2023 base salary of $692,000 (which was also in consideration of Dr. Vogt’s continued service as the Interim Chief Executive Officer), a 6.5% salary increase for Dr. Graf Finckenstein resulting in a 2023 base salary of $585,750, an 5.5% salary increase for Mr. Bellemin resulting in a 2023 base salary of $527,500, and a 5.5% salary increase for Dr. Bilinsky resulting in a 2023 base salary of $527,500.

Annual Incentive Awards

On March 2, 2023, the Compensation Committee approved an increase in the 2023 bonus target percentages for (i) the NEOs, other than Dr. Vogt, from 40% to 45% of 2023 base salary and (ii) Dr. Vogt, from 60% to 65% of 2023 base salary.

Additionally, the Compensation Committee approved special discretionary bonuses (the “Special Bonuses”) equal to 20% of 2023 base salary for each of the NEOs which shall be (i) payable upon the acceptance of the Company’s BLA submission by the FDA and

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(ii) calculated based on the applicable 2023 target bonus percentages, provided, however, that such Special Bonuses shall only remain due and payable if the FDA acceptance of the Company’s BLA occurs no later than the outside date approved by the Compesnation Committee, subject to the continued employment of the NEOs with the Company on such date.

Equity Awards

On March 2, 2023, the Compensation Committee also approved the following stock option and stock awards that were granted on March 2, 2023. Although these awards are granted in part based on 2022 performance, the values of these stock options and stock awards will not be disclosed in our executive compensation tables until our 2024 proxy statement.

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Other Executive Compensation Considerations

Stock Ownership Guidelines

Although stock option grants encourage equity ownership, we do not require our directors or executive officers to own a particular number of shares of our common stock. We believe that stock and option holdings among our directors and named executive officers are adequate at this time to appropriately align their interests with those of our stockholders.

Deductibility of Executive Compensation

The Compensation Committee takes into consideration the tax consequences of compensation to the named executive officers, but tax considerations are not a significant part of our Company’s compensation policy especially in light of the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “TCJA”), which limits the deductibility of certain compensation to highly compensated executives.

Accounting for Share-Based Compensation

We account for share-based compensation in accordance with the requirements of FASB ASC Topic 718, “Compensation — Stock Compensation.” This accounting treatment has not significantly affected our executive compensation decisions.

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Clawbacks

We are subject to the clawback provisions of Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, “SOX 304”). In addition, our 2018 Equity Incentive Plan contains a “clawback” provision whereby, to the extent required by applicable law (including, without limitation, SOX 304) and/or the rules and regulations of Nasdaq or any other securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation service on which our common stock is listed or quoted, awards issued under the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan shall be subject (including on a retroactive basis) to clawback, forfeiture or similar requirements, in the event our Company’s historical financial results are subsequently revised or restated. When applicable, we will comply with the Nasdaq listing standards regarding the implementation of Exchange Act Rule 10D-1, which requires public companies to implement “clawback” policies providing for the recovery of incentive-based compensation in the event of a required accounting restatement.

Insider Trading Policy

Our insider trading policy expressly prohibits short sales and derivative transactions of our stock by our named executive officers, directors and specified other employees, including short sales of our securities, including short sales “against the box”; purchases or sales of puts, calls or other derivative securities of the Company or any derivative securities that provide the economic equivalent of ownership of any of our securities or an opportunity, direct or indirect, to profit from any change in the value of our securities; or other hedging or monetization transactions accomplished through the use of prepaid variable forwards, equity swaps, collars and exchange funds. In addition, our insider trading policy expressly prohibits our named executive officers, directors and specified other employees from purchasing our securities on margin, borrowing against Company securities held in a margin account, or pledging our securities as collateral for a loan.

The foregoing policies remained in place through 2022, and, unless otherwise noted above, we expect to continue to follow them for the foreseeable future.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

During 2022, no member of the Compensation Committee served as one of our officers, former officers, or employees. During 2022, none of our named executive officers served as a member of the compensation committee of any other entity, one of whose executive officers served as a member either of our Board of Directors or Compensation Committee, and none of our named executive officers served as a member of the Board of Directors of any other entity, one of whose executive officers served as a member of our Compensation Committee.

Stockholder Advisory Vote

Each year, we hold a non-binding advisory stockholder vote on the compensation program for our named executive officers. At our annual stockholder meetings held in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, our stockholders approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers. In evaluating our compensation arrangements for 2022 year-end bonuses, we considered the support of our stockholders of our compensation arrangements and objectives. As a result, our Compensation Committee retains our general approach to executive compensation and continues to apply the same general principles and philosophy as in the prior fiscal years in determining executive compensation. Our Compensation Committee values the opinions of our stockholders and will take our stockholders’ opinions into account when making compensation decisions for the members of our executive team, including the named executive officers.

Report of the Compensation Committee on Executive Compensation

The Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors has reviewed and discussed with management the foregoing “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” required by Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K and based on such review and discussions, the Compensation Committee recommended to our Board of Directors that this “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” be included in this Proxy Statement.

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COMPENSATION COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael Weiser, M.D., Ph.D. (Chair)

Athena Countouriotis, M.D.

Merrill A. McPeak

Wayne P. Rothbaum

SUMMARY COMPENSATION OF NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table sets forth all compensation awards to, paid or earned by the following type of named executive officers for each of the Company’s last three years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020: (i) all individuals serving as our principal executive officer or acting in a similar capacity during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, regardless of compensation level; (ii) all individuals serving as our principal financial officer or acting in a similar capacity during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, regardless of compensation level; (iii) our three most highly compensated executive officers other than our principal executive officer and principal financial officer who were serving as executive officers at the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022; and (iv) up to two additional individuals for whom disclosure would have been provided, but for the fact that the individual was not serving as one of our executive officers at the end of fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. We refer to these individuals collectively as our named executive officers.

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