Targovax, Valo Tx to Evaluate Virus Platforms in Tumors

Targovax ASA, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing oncolytic viruses and cancer vaccines to target hard-to-treat solid tumors, and Valo Therapeutics (Valo Tx) have entered a collaboration 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. The companies 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.