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The ONCOS-102 phase 1b melanoma study selected for oral presentation at the SITC 2022 annual meeting

  • An abstract on the optimal dosing-schedule of ONCOS-102 based on full clinical and biomarker analyses in the PD-1 resistant melanoma phase 1b study has been selected for oral presentation at the Society for Immunotherapy in Cancer (SITC) annual meeting 
  • The SITC annual meeting is considered the premier international cancer immunotherapy conference, and will be held in Boston 8-12 November 2022

Oslo, Norway, 5 October 2022 – Targovax ASA (OSE: TRVX), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing immune activators to target solid tumors, today announces that the SITC abstract review committee has selected the ONCOS-102 phase 1b study in PD-1 resistant advanced melanoma for oral presentation at the annual meeting to be held in November in Boston.  

PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) resistant advanced melanoma is a major unmet medical need affecting up to 25,000 patients per year in the major markets. The diagnosis is associated with a poor prognosis and there are currently no approved treatment options available.

In an earlier topline data release from this Phase 1b study, Targovax reported an encouraging objective response rate (ORR) of 35% for the combination of ONCOS-102 and the PD-1 CPI Keytruda. At the SITC conference, further translational biomarker analyses and the impact of dosing regimen on systemic activity and immune responses will be presented.

Title of the abstract, to be presented both orally and as a poster:

Presenter:Dr. Alexander Shoushtari, Principal Investigator, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NYC
Title:Repeat dosing of oncolytic adenovirus ONCOS-102 is associated with enhanced and persistent immune responses and improved systemic activity in anti-PD-1 resistant/refractory (r/r) melanoma
Date:10 November, 2022
Time:7pm ET

Dr. Lone Ottesen, Chief Medical Officer of Targovax ASA, said: “It is a great honor to have our study selected for an oral presentation at the SITC annual meeting, which is considered the most prestigious scientific forum in cancer immunotherapy. The podium presentation will be given by principal investigator Dr. Alexander Shoushtari from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the strong ONCOS-102 melanoma data package to a broad, international audience of academic leaders”. 

For further information, please contact:
Erik Digman Wiklund, CEO
Phone: +47 413 33 536
Email: erik.wiklund@targovax.com

Renate Birkeli, Investor Relations
Phone: +47 922 61 624
Email: renate.birkeli@targovax.com

Media enquires:
Andreas Tinglum – Corporate Communications (Norway)
Phone: +47 9300 1773
Email: andreas.tinglum@corpcom.no

About Targovax

Activating the patient’s immune system to fight cancer

Targovax (OSE:TRVX) is a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing immune activators to target hard-to-treat solid tumors. Targovax’s focus is to activate the patient’s immune system to fight cancer, and thereby bring benefit to cancer patients with few available treatment alternatives. Targovax is assessing its product candidates in different cancer indications, including melanoma, mesothelioma and multiple myeloma, and has demonstrated a favorable safety and tolerability profile.

Targovax’s lead clinical candidate, ONCOS-102, is a genetically modified oncolytic adenovirus, which has been engineered to selectively infect cancer cells and activate the immune system against the tumor. Following very encouraging clinical data in several indications, both as monotherapy and in combinations, ONCOS-102 is progressing into a randomized phase 2 trial in melanoma patients resistant to PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor treatment.

Building on successful studies demonstrating clinical efficacy and providing deep mechanistic insights, the Targovax platform is being expanded into delivery of circular RNA (circRNA). In addition, Targovax has a KRAS immunotherapy program, with lead cancer vaccine candidate, TG01, due to enter the clinic in the second half of 2022. This provides Targovax with a rich pipeline of innovative future immunotherapy product candidates to follow ONCOS-102.


Source: Targovax