Vis børsmeldingen
· The agreement may be extended into an exclusive commercial partnership for
KRAS vaccination if the combination proves effective in exploratory clinical
studies
Oslo, Norway, 07 March 2022 - Targovax ASA (OSE: TRVX), a clinical-stage immuno
-oncology company developing immune activators to target hard-to-treat solid
tumors, and Agenus (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with an extensive
pipeline of checkpoint antibodies, adjuvants, and vaccines designed to activate
immune response to cancers and infections, today announce that they have entered
into a clinical collaboration and supply agreement to combine Targovax’s TG
mutant KRAS cancer vaccines with Agenus´s clinically validated and FDA approved
QS-21 STIMULON adjuvant.
The TG vaccines are peptide mixtures designed to elicit polyvalent immune
responses against the most frequent mutations in the RAS gene family, which
drive up to 30% of all cancers. TG01 has shown promise in phase 1/2 clinical
trials, and Targovax has recently been awarded two prestigious research grants
providing up to NOK 18m in funding to advance the TG program. Cancer vaccines
require combination with an adjuvant in order to stimulate antigen processing
and T-cell priming, and Targovax has selected QS-21 STIMULON as the adjuvant of
choice for continued clinical development.
QS-21 STIMULON is a purified, natural saponin proprietary to Agenus. It has
been widely studied in over 120 clinical trials and consistently demonstrated
powerful antibody and cell-mediated immune responses as well as a favorable
safety profile. QS-21 STIMULON is a critical component of multiple vaccines,
including GSK’s FDA approved Shingrix® shingles vaccine with protection
exceeding 9 years, and the world’s first malaria vaccine MosquirixT.
Under the collaboration with Targovax, Agenus will supply QS-21 STIMULON and
scientific support for up to three initial TG01 clinical trials in different
cancer indications. If the clinical results meet certain pre-specified
performance targets, the collaboration will be extended into an exclusive
pivotal development and commercialization agreement where Agenus will be
entitled to tiered double-digit royalties on future TG vaccine sales.
Dr. Garo H. Armen, Chief Executive Officer of Agenus Inc., said: “We look
forward to collaborating with Targovax to extend the benefit of QS-21 STIMULON
to new patient populations such as those harboring KRAS-mutated cancers. It
highlights the broad applicability of our QS-21 STIMULON technology and could
unlock a sizeable commercial opportunity in KRAS-mutated cancers.”
Dr. Erik Digman Wiklund, Chief Executive Officer of Targovax ASA, added: “QS-21
STIMULON is arguably the most clinically and commercially successful FDA
approved adjuvant for protein- and peptide-based vaccines, and has proven highly
effective in eliciting immune responses. We expect that this unique adjuvant
will further enhance the efficacy of our TG01 and TG02 products, and see it as a
critical component of our development strategy as we prepare to bring the TG
vaccines back into the clinic in multiple mutant KRAS cancers.”
For further information, please contact:
Erik Digman Wiklund, CEO
Phone: +47 413 33 536
Email: erik.wiklund@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’s focus is to
activate the patient’s immune system to fight cancer, and thereby bring benefit
to cancer patients with few available treatment alternatives. Targovax is
assessing its product candidates in different cancer indications, including
melanoma, mesothelioma and colorectal cancer, and has demonstrated a favorable
safety and tolerability profile.
About Agenus
Agenus is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and
development of therapies that engage the body’s immune system to fight cancer.
The Company’s vision is to expand the patient populations benefiting from cancer
immunotherapy by pursuing combination approaches that leverage a broad
repertoire of antibody therapeutics, adoptive cell therapies (through its
subsidiary MiNK Therapeutics), adjuvants, and proprietary cancer vaccine
platforms. The Company is equipped with a suite of antibody discovery platforms
and a state-of-the-art GMP manufacturing facility with the capacity to support
clinical programs. Agenus is headquartered in Lexington, MA. For more
information, please visit www.agenusbio.com and our Twitter handle @agenus_bio.
Information that may be important to investors will be routinely posted on our
website and Twitter.
Agenus Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws, including statements
regarding clinical development and regulatory plans and timelines, anticipated
corporate milestones, new clinical data and program updates to be presented.
These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties
include, among others, the factors described under the Risk Factors section of
our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Agenus cautions investors not
to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in
this release. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release,
and Agenus undertakes no obligation to update or revise the statements, other
than to the extent required by law. All forward-looking statements are expressly
qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
Contact
Agenus Inc.
Divya Vasudevan, PhD
781-674-4571
divya.vasudevan@agenusbio.com
Agenus Media Relations
Kimberly Ha
KKH Advisors
917-291-5744
kimberly.ha@kkhadvisors.com
Kilde
