Targovax and Valo Therapeutics enter collaboration to develop RAS neoantigen coating of ONCOS viruses using PeptiCRAd technology

Targovax and Valo Therapeutics intend to run pre-clinical proof-of-concept studies testing mutant RAS peptide coated ONCOS-102 adenovirus

·      If successful, the collaboration could lead to further development of a first-in-class mutant-RAS targeting oncolytic virus

Oslo, Norway, & Helsinki, Finland 22 April 2020 - Targovax ASA (OSE: TRVX), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing oncolytic viruses and cancer vaccines to target hard-to-treat solid tumors, and Valo Therapeutics (Valo Tx) today announce that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to evaluate PeptiCRAd technology as a tool to coat ONCOS oncolytic adenoviruses with Targovax’s TG mutant RAS peptides.   

Valo Tx’s PeptiCRAd technology has been developed to coat oncolytic viruses with tumor antigen peptides for enhanced immune activation and local delivery of antigens directly into the tumor site. With this collaboration, Targovax and Valo Tx will test whether PeptiCRAd coating of ONCOS-102 adenovirus with TG mutant RAS peptides can generate enhanced systemic CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses against mutant RAS, and specifically direct these T-cells to the tumor site.

The technical feasibility, in vitro activity and in vivo immune activation potential of the concept will be evaluated in the first phase of the collaboration. If successful, the parties will jointly determine how to further expand and develop the collaboration to establish a first-in-class oncolytic virus engineered to induce mutant RAS immune responses.  

Dr. Anne-Sophie Møller, Head of Clinical Science of Targovax, said: “We are excited to initiate this collaboration with Valo Therapeutics. We continue to view mutant RAS as a very compelling immunotherapeutic target. The innovative PeptiCRAd technology enables us to merge our peptide vaccine and oncolytic virus platforms to generate a truly novel RAS-targeting ONCOS vaccine. The combination of these promising technologies could become a new platform supporting our aspiration to develop novel therapies for hard-to-treat solid tumors.”

Dr. Sari Pesonen, Head of R&D at Valo Tx, commented, “We are delighted that Targovax has chosen to partner with us in the solid tumor space, providing further endorsement of our PeptiCRAd technology. By enabling the coating of ONCOS-102 adenovirus with TG mutant RAS peptides, we have a unique opportunity to take full advantage of the clinically proven immune activation potency of ONCOS-102 by directing the immune responses towards mutant RAS neoantigens, driving enhanced tumor-specific T-cell responses in cancer patients.”