Published on August 22, 2019
Our strategy
Targovax is a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing immune activators for combination therapy in cancer. Targovax has a diversified immune activator portfolio and aims to become a leader in this area. The Company’s lead product, ONCOS-102, is an oncolytic adenovirus armed with an immune-stimulating transgene, which is currently being investigated in four ongoing clinical trials.
Targovax has built on the previous immune activation and anti-tumor findings and showed that the combination of ONCOS-102 and Keytruda can generate systemic responses that reduce the size of non-injected lesions, i.e. abscopal anti-tumor effect. This work was performed in a humanized melanoma mouse model with tumors inoculated dorsally on both sides of the animals. After the tumors were established, ONCOS-102 was injected directly into the tumor on one side only, followed by systemic treatment with Keytruda. By Day 40, tumors on the non-injected side of the animals had shrunk by an average of 70%.
Targovax is developing a cancer immunotherapeutic technology with a targeted mechanism of action, making tumors visible to the immune system and educating the immune system to recognize and attack patient specific tumor cells. The technology is based on adenoviruses engineered to kill tumor cells primarily via activation of a systemic, patient-specific anti-tumor immune response. The lead clinical candidate is ONCOS-102.
Peptide-based neoantigencancer vaccines activate cancer specific T – cell immune-responses. Mutant RAS proteins are neoantigen and drivers for development of cancer. RAS mutations are exclusively found in cancer cells and are therefore cancer specific targets for attacking cancer immunologically.