Targovax ASA appoints Dr Lone Ottesen as Chief Development Officer
Oslo, Norway, 1 July 2021 - Targovax ASA (OSE: TRVX) announces the appointment of Dr Lone Ottesen, MD, PhD as Chief Development Officer (CDO). She will take a leading role in driving the clinical programs forward. Dr Ottesen will serve as a member of Targovax’s management team.
Dr Ottesen is a highly experienced drug developer with extensive experience across the global oncology and immune-oncology drug development spectrum with nearly 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry in both early- and late-phase development. Lone got her MD and PhD at Aarhus University in Denmark and has held roles of increasing seniority in GSK, Eisai and latest AstraZeneca where she was the Global Clinical Head for two assets in pivotal clinical development as well as leading the development of durvalumab in breast and gynecological cancers. Lone will be spearheading the clinical development program for the Targovax portfolio including the planned registration-directed trial in anti-PD1 refractory melanoma for the lead asset ONCOS-102.
Oystein Soug, CEO, commented: "It is with great enthusiasm that we welcome Dr Ottesen to Targovax! As we have completed our early-stage clinical development program and are entering into later stage programs taking ONCOS-102 to market, her broad and deep drug development experience will be instrumental in shaping Targovax’s future. We are proud to have attracted a seasoned expert like Lone, and I am confident that she will be a valuable addition to our team."
Dr Ottesen added: "I am excited to join Targovax at such an important stage for the company. The clinical data with ONCOS-102 in both monotherapy and in combination therapies in several tumor types are impressive. I am very enthusiastic about the path ahead with the potential for a registrational-directed trial and the opportunity to broaden the development program into other solid tumors. I look forward to start working with the strong team at Targovax to build and execute the clinical program and bring this promising therapy to patients.
Dr Ottesen commences as Chief Development Officer 1 July.
For further information, please contact:
Oystein Soug, CEO
Phone: +47 906 56 525
Email: oystein.soug@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 aims to unlock greater clinical benefits in cancer patients by deploying multifunctional platforms to target key immune regulators and oncogenic drivers. Targovax’s focus is to “activate the patient’s immune system to fight cancer”, thus extending and transforming the lives of cancer patients. Targovax’s pipeline aims at different cancer indications, including melanoma, mesothelioma and colorectal cancer. The products are designed to harness the patient’s own immune system to fight the cancer, whilst also delivering 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 to fight the cancer. On the back of very encouraging data in several indications, in monotherapy and in multiple combination, the next development steps for ONCOS-102 will involve a clinical trial with registration intent in checkpoint inhibitor refractory melanoma.