Targovax has appointed Peter Skorpil as Head of Business Development, effective from April 8th, 2015.
Peter Skorpil, PhD, MBA, VP Business Development, has extensive experience in licensing, commercial assessments, business intelligence and partnering. Previously, he was Commercial Director in Pronova BioPharma and Business Development Manager for Clavis Pharma where he among other things was responsible for out-licensing and managing Clavis partners. Peter has also worked as a venture capital analyst at NeoMed Management.
Peter has a MBA from Brandeis University, Massachusetts, USA and a PhD in molecular biology from University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Targovax is entering an exciting development phase and by expanding the professional and experienced management team, Targovax is well positioned to explore partnerships and collaborations.
“I am pleased to welcome Peter to our Team. Peter will help making Targovax more visible and ensure that Targovax secures a front-line position in the exciting immune oncology space”, says Gunnar Gårdemyr, CEO of Targovax.
Contact:
Targovax
Gunnar Gårdemyr,
Chief Executive Officer,
Cell phone: (+41) 798 340 585
E-mail: ggardemyr@targovax.com
Jonas Einarsson,
Chairman of the Board,
Cell phone: (+47) 48 09 63 55
E-mail: je@radforsk.no
Facts:
Targovax
Targovax was established in October in 2010 to develop immunotherapy in the form of therapeutic cancer vaccines based on pioneering research at the Norwegian Radium Hospital and Norsk Hydro. Mutation of RAS is an early mutation in the transformation of a normal cell into a cancer cell. Lead candidate TG01 educates the body’s immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells with RAS mutations. TG01 has Orphan Drug status for pancreatic cancer in the EU and US and is currently in Phase II trials in operated pancreatic cancer. The company is located in Lysaker, close to Oslo, Norway.
Immuno- oncology / Cancer vaccines
The Norwegian cancer research community has been in the forefront of understanding the mechanisms for immuno-oncology and cancer vaccines. A cancer vaccine educates the body’s immune system to recognize and kill the cancer cells. The TG01 vaccine is therapeutic and is given as treatment to patients after surgery of cancer patients, to prevent relapse.
Pancreas cancer and other RAS-mutated cancer forms
Pancreatic cancer is a disease affecting 116 000 patients each year in EU and USA, and approximately 690 persons each year in Norway. Approx 15-20% of these are discovered at an early stage and are operable. The mortality is high, and the prognosis for these patients has been more or less unchanged the last 30 years. Approximately 80-90% of patients with pancreatic cancer have RAS mutations in the cancer cells.
RAS mutations occur in approx. 20% of all cancer cases, and are also frequent in colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and other cancers. Patients with RAS mutations within these indications have proved to be difficult to treat with current treatments, and there is a significant unmet medical need.
