Oslo, Norway, 20 March 2020 – Targovax ASA (OSE: TRVX), a clinical stage biotechnology company developing immune activators to target hard-to-treat solid tumors, issues an update to its investors and analysts.
Targovax is running clinical trials at several hospitals both in Europe and the US. Targovax management is following the COVID-19 outbreak situation closely and is continuously working to find mitigating solutions as the situation continues. In the short term there are no significant implications to our core operations.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, authorities on both sides of the Atlantic have taken strong measures to reduce the spread of the virus. These measures, in combination with uncertainty and hospitals potentially prioritizing acute patients, have increased the risk of clinical trials being delayed.
- Patients in the mesothelioma trial have all completed their treatment regimens and are in the follow-up phase. Updated clinical and immune data are still expected during the first half of 2020
- The melanoma trial is fully recruited and supply of ONCOS-102 is currently under control. Clinical and immune activation data are still expected in the second half of 2020
- The peritoneal malignancies collaboration trial is continuing. ONCOS-102 is currently available on all sites and Targovax is working to secure continued supply for the longer term. It is still too early to conclude how the COVID-19 situation will affect recruitment and further treatment in this trial
At the moment, Targovax’s main focus is to secure ONCOS-102 supply to patients in the ongoing trials. There are sufficient ONCOS-102 vials for all patients, and the team works to ensure shipments to relevant sites.
Targovax conducted a private placement in January and does not need to raise capital under the current challenging market conditions. Targovax continue to apply a prudent financial strategy and avoid entering into anything but necessary commitments for the moment. Our financial strategy also includes currency hedging for future currency needs.
The company maintains its effort to present pre-clinical data for the next generation ONCOS viruses to the scientific community. An abstract has been approved for presentation at the AACR meeting, which for now has been postponed until later in 2020.
The status update above is based on the current situation and subject to change as the situation evolves.
The company will update the market if there are relevant changes to operations.
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.