Targovax ASA and Agenus announce collaboration on mutant KRAS cancer vaccine adjuvanted with QS-21 STIMULON™
March 07 2022 - 7:00AM
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, and Targovax ASA (OSE: TRVX), a clinical-stage
immuno-oncology company developing immune activators to target
hard-to-treat solid tumors, 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
Mosquirix™.
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, CEOPhone: +47 413 33 536Email:
erik.wiklund@targovax.com
Renate Birkeli, Investor RelationsPhone: +47 922 61 624Email:
renate.birkeli@targovax.com
Media enquiries:Andreas Tinglum - Corporate
Communications (Norway)Phone: +47 9300 1773Email:
andreas.tinglum@corpcom.no
About Targovax
Activating the patient's immune system to fight
cancerTargovax (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,
PhD781-674-4571divya.vasudevan@agenusbio.com
Agenus Media RelationsKimberly HaKKH
Advisors917-291-5744kimberly.ha@kkhadvisors.com
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