Targovax announces Notice of Allowance in the US on patent covering the TG mutant-RAS neoantigen vaccine platform
Further strengthening the IP protection of the TG platform
Oslo, 8 March 2019: Targovax ASA (“Targovax” or “the Company”; OSE: TRVX), a clinical stage biotechnology company developing immune activators to target hard-to-treat solid tumors, announces that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance on the patent application No. 15/461837. The allowed patent protects the composition of matter of Targovax's mutant-RAS specific neoantigen peptides and vaccines TG02 and TG03.
Jon Amund Eriksen, special advisor and Co-founder of Targovax, said: "We are delighted that this US patent has been allowed, further strengthening Targovax's intellectual property portfolio covering the very important mutant-RAS neoantigen peptide platform. The oncology market is ever expanding, with the immuno-oncology segment expected to see the largest growth in the coming years. Securing this patent protects our innovative mutant-RAS specific cancer immunotherapy platform and strengthens our market position in the US for treatment of RAS-mutated cancers."
Targovax’s proprietary mutant-RAS neoantigen vaccine platform is designed to treat patients with tumors harboring RAS mutations. Mutations in the RAS genes are a driving cause of cancer development and progression and is linked to poor prognosis. By inducing an anti-mutant-RAS specific immune response, TG vaccines have the potential to delay disease progression and increase survival, with a favorable safety profile.
For further information, please contact:
Renate Birkeli, Investor Relations
Phone: +47 922 61 624
Email: renate.birkeli@targovax.com
Media and IR 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 biotechnology company developing immune activators to target hard-to-treat solid tumors. Immuno-oncology is currently one of the fastest growing therapeutic fields in medicine.
Targovax’s lead product candidate, ONCOS-102, is a genetically modified oncolytic adenovirus, which has been engineered to selectively infect and replicate in cancer cells. It has been shown to activate the immune system to generate tumor-specific immune responses. In phase I trials, ONCOS-102 induced both local and systemic innate and adaptive immune activation, which has been associated with clinical benefit. ONCOS-102’s targeted path-to-market indication is mesothelioma, where the virus is currently being tested in a randomized phase II trial. Another trial, in checkpoint inhibitor refractory advanced melanoma, is expected to produce important proof-of-concept immune activation data in heavily pre-treated patients.
Targovax is also developing a neo-antigen cancer vaccine targeting tumors with oncogenic RAS–mutations, which are known to drive cancer. The TG vaccine program has shown strong RAS-specific immune activation and a signal of clinical efficacy in a 32-patient trial with TG01 in resected pancreatic cancer. A next generation product candidate, TG02 is currently tested in a phase I trial in colorectal cancer, both as monotherapy and in combination with Keytruda (an anti-PD1 check point inhibitor).