Targovax announces that the ONCOS-102 and durvalumab abstract is selected for a Poster Discussion Session at ASCO

• The abstract describes the dose-escalation part of the ONCOS-102 and durvalumab combination trial in peritoneal malignancies
• The abstract has been selected for the Poster Discussion Session Developmental Therapeutics—Immunotherapy to be presented 29 May at the ASCO 2020 virtual meeting

Oslo, Norway, 14 May 2020 - Targovax ASA (OSE: TRVX), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing oncolytic viruses to target hard-to-treat solid tumors, today announces that an abstract relating to the dose escalation part of the ONCOS-102 and durvalumab trial in primary ovarian and colorectal cancer that has spread to the peritoneum has been selected for presentation at a Poster Discussion Session during ASCO 2020.

The study is an open label, exploratory phase I/II trial assessing the intra-peritoneally delivered ONCOS-102 in combination with systemically administered checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian or colorectal cancers that have metastasized to the peritoneal cavity. The trial is designed with a dose-escalation phase assessing three different dosing levels, followed by an expansion phase with a total of up to 78 patients enrolled into separate groups of ovarian and colorectal cancer.

In the ASCO abstract, safety, immune activation and clinical response data for the three dose escalation cohorts will be presented. A total of 17 patients were enrolled, 4 in cohort A (low dose), 5 in cohort B (middle dose) and 8 in cohort C (high dose). No dose-limiting toxicities were observed, and the combination had an acceptable safety profile. Therefore, the high-dose level was selected for the expansion phase of the trial, which is currently enrolling patients. Preliminary analyses indicate that the treatment is triggering immune activation and has clinical activity, which were more pronounced in cohort B and C.

Dr. Magnus Jäderberg, Chief Medical Officer of Targovax, said: “We are very proud that ONCOS-102 was chosen as the oncolytic virus of choice for this trial and we are equally pleased that the scientific committee has selected our ONCOS-102 and durvalumab combination abstract for a poster discussion at the upcoming ASCO meeting. Although it is too early in the trial to interpret the clinical data, we are happy to have moved into the expansion phase following successful completion of the dose escalation phase. This is an important clinical trial as it addresses a disease with a very high unmet medical need while potentially opening up intra-peritoneal administration as an alternative delivery route for ONCOS-102.”

The abstract can be found here https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/185276/abstract.

The trial is a collaboration between Targovax, AstraZeneca, Cancer Research Institute (CRI) and Ludwig Cancer Research.

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 immuno-oncology company developing oncolytic viruses to target hard-to-treat solid tumors. Targovax’s lead product candidate, ONCOS-102, is a genetically modified oncolytic adenovirus, which has been engineered to selectively infect cancer cells and activate the immune system to fight the cancer.

ONCOS-102 is currently being tested in mesothelioma, melanoma and peritoneal malignancies and has already shown promising clinical results both as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy, and a checkpoint inhibitor.