Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a development-stage[1] American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Maryland that focuses on developing immunotherapies against different types of cancer.

[1]: 16  As of 2014[update], Northwest's expanding clinical trials have led to an increased reliance on Cognate's services, and subsequent renegotiation of their agreement.

Alternatively, in a process still under development, the harvested dendritic cells are injected directly into the tumour where they are activated in situ with the same result.

Discover in 1973 at Rockefeller University by Dr. Ralph Steinman, dendritic cells act as the general for the adaptive immune system.

The results of the trial were peer reviewed and published in the Journal of American Medical Association Oncology in Nov 2022.

The trial showed a meaningful increase in survival for both new diagnosed and recurrent GBM patients.

These dendritic cells, laden with tumor protein antigens, are then injected under the skin near lymph nodes.

After the resulting "tumor lysate" is presented to the dendritic cells, they are ready for subcutaneous injection near the selected lymph node(s).

It is currently in Phase 1 testing on patients with inoperable tumors of a very large range of cancer types.

DCVax-L and DCVax-Direct, if effective, could address virtually all forms of solid tumor cancers, operable and inoperable, with the possible exception of prostate cancer.[why?]