Targovax ASA: Third quarter 2017 results

Oslo, Norway, 2 November 2017 - Targovax ASA (OSE: TRVX), a clinical stage company focused on developing immuno-oncology therapies to target solid tumors, today announces its third quarter 2017 results.

A meeting for investors, analysts and press will take place in Oslo today at 10:00 CET (details below).

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE THIRD QUARTER 2017

Research & Development

• Targovax presented data from three trials at the annual meeting of the European Society of Molecular Oncology (ESMO) in September in Madrid, highlighting some of the important clinical progress from both of its two platforms
   
• Targovax announced the initiation of the Phase I/II trial in ovarian and colorectal cancer, where, for the first time, ONCOS-102 will be administered intra-peritoneally. The trial is in combination with IMFINZI(TM) (durvalumab), and is a collaboration between Targovax and the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), and sponsored by Ludwig Cancer Research
   
• Targovax was granted a US patent for the therapeutic use of the product candidates in its TG mutant-RAS neo-antigen cancer vaccine platform in combination with anti-metabolite chemotherapy
   
• At the Nordic Life Science Days conference in Malmø in September, Targovax received the 2017 Nordic Stars award for outstanding innovation and entrepreneurial skills

Finance

• In July, Targovax completed the private placement of NOK 200m (USD 26m) announced in June, as well as a subsequent offering raising a further NOK 6.5m (USD 0.8m) 

POST-PERIOD HIGHLIGHTS

• In October, Targovax reported encouraging one-year survival rate, immune activation, and safety data for the modified "second" cohort in the TG01 phase I/II trial in resected pancreatic cancer, in line with the first[1]cohort data published earlier in the year
   
• In October, Targovax was granted a US patent for its product candidate TG02 and its use to stimulate the immune system of cancer patients, the 2ndgeneration product from the TG platform, which is currently under testing in a phase I trial in colorectal cancer

Øystein Soug, CEO said: "The momentum generated in the business this year continued in the third quarter. During the period, we initiated a very interesting collaboration trial in colorectal and ovarian cancer, where we will test intraperitoneal administration of ONCOS-102, and combine it with AstraZeneca's checkpoint inhibitor IMFINZI. We also got an important patent granted in the US for the therapeutic use of the TG platform in combination with chemotherapy. In October, the patent position of the TG platform was strengthened further by the grant of a US product/composition of matter patent for TG02. In recent weeks, we were also pleased to see the encouraging one-year survival rate, immune activation, and safety data from the second cohort in the TG01 trial in resected pancreatic cancer, which further strengthens the potential of this program. We now look forward to an exciting period in the end of 2017 and through 2018, with several important data read-outs from our ongoing clinical trial programs."

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Presentation
The presentation will take place at 10:00 CET at:

Hotel Continental
Stortingsgaten 24/26
0117 Oslo

The presentation will also be webcast live and can be accessed through www.targovax.com.

Reporting material
The quarterly report and presentation are also available at the website  www.targovax.com.

For further information, please contact:
Renate Birkeli, Investor Relations
Phone: +47 922 61 624
Email: renate.birkeli@targovax.com  

Media and IR enquires:
Jan Petter Stiff - Crux Advisers (Norway)
Phone: +47 995 13 891
Email: stiff@crux.no   

Julia Phillips/Simon Conway - FTI Consulting (International)
Phone: +44 20 3727 1000
Email: Targovax@fticonsulting.com   

About Targovax

Arming the patient's immune system to fight cancer

Targovax (OSE:TRVX) is a clinical stage company focused on developing and commercializing novel immuno-oncology therapies to target, primarily, treatment-resistant solid tumors. Immuno-oncology is currently one of the fastest growing therapeutic fields in medicine.

The Company's development pipeline is based on two novel proprietary platforms:

The first platform, ONCOS, uses oncolytic viruses as potential multi-target, neo-antigen therapeutic cancer vaccines. ONCOS uses an adenovirus that has been engineered to be an immune activator that selectively targets cancer cells. In phase I trials it has demonstrated immune activation at lesional level which was associated with clinical benefit. In an ongoing phase I trial in advanced melanoma we expect important proof of concept data for checkpoint inhibitor refractory patients.

The second platform, TG, are neo-antigen cancer vaccines designed to specifically treat tumors that express mutated forms of RAS. Mutations to the RAS protein are common in many cancers and are known to drive aggressive disease progression and treatment resistance. There is a high unmet medical need for therapies that are effective against tumors that express these mutations. The TG platform's therapeutic potential stems from its ability to enable the patient's immune system to identify and destroy tumors bearing any RAS mutations. In early 2017, key proof of concept data for the TG platform from a clinical trial of TG01 in resected pancreatic cancer patients showed encouraging overall survival and will give guidance for the future clinical development of this platform.

Targovax's development pipeline has three novel therapeutic candidates in clinical development covering six indications.

Both platforms are protected by an extensive portfolio of IP and know-how and have the potential to yield multiple product candidates in a cost-effective manner. Additionally, Targovax has other products in early stages of development.

[1]Previously referred to as "main" cohort

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.