Oslo, Norway, 5 January 2017: Targovax ASA ("Targovax" or "the Company"; OSE: TRVX), a clinical stage company focused on developing immuno-oncology therapies to target solid tumors, announces that Erik Digman Wiklund has been appointed as the Company's new Chief Financial Officer, and will take up this role in April 2017. The previous CFO, Oystein Soug, was appointed as Targovax's CEO on 2 November 2016.
Erik joins from the nutraceutical company Aker Biomarine Antarctic AS, where he held the position as Director of Product Innovation. Prior to joining Aker Biomarine, Erik worked for Norwegian cancer biotechnology company Algeta ASA, and also has management consulting experience from the Pharma & Health Care practice of McKinsey & Company. Erik holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from Aarhus University, Denmark, and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia.
Oystein Soug, CEO of Targovax commented: "We are delighted to announce the appointment of Erik as our new CFO. He has an impressive track record in commercial and operational roles in the biotechnology industry, combined with a strong scientific background. Erik's breadth of expertise will be key as we approach a number of important milestones in 2017 and 2018 within our innovative clinical pipeline, designed to help patients own immune system to fight cancer."
For further information, please contact: Renate Birkeli, Investor Relations Phone: +47 922 61 624 Email: renate.birkeli@targovax.com
Media and IR enquires: Jan Petter Stiff - Crux Advisers (Norway) Phone: +47 995 13 891 Email: stiff@crux.no
Julia Phillips/Simon Conway - FTI Consulting (International) Phone: +44 20 3727 1000 Email: Targovax@fticonsulting.com
About Targovax Arming the patient's immune system to fight cancer
Targovax is a clinical stage company focused on developing novel immuno-oncology therapies to target, primarily, treatment-resistant solid tumors. Immuno-oncology is currently one of the fastest growing therapeutic fields in medicine.
The Company's development pipeline has arisen from two novel proprietary platforms:
The first platform, ONCOS, uses oncolytic viruses, an emerging class of biological therapy. ONCOS exclusively uses an adenovirus that has been engineered to be a tumor-targeted immune activator. The platform has the potential to generate therapies with superior efficacy and safety compared to the first approved oncolytic virus therapy, Imlygic, recently launched by Amgen. We expect proof of concept data related to immune activation in tumor tissue in 2017 from the clinical trial of ONCOS-102 in combination with CPI in patients with refractory malignant melanoma.
The second platform, TG-Peptides, solely targets tumors that express mutated forms of the RAS protein. Mutations to this protein are common in many cancers and are known to drive aggressive disease progression and treatment resistance. There is a high unmet medical need for therapies that are effective against tumors that express these mutations. The TG platform's therapeutic potential stems from its ability to enable a patient's immune system to identify and then destroy tumors bearing any RAS mutations.
The development pipeline has three novel therapeutic candidates in clinical development covering six indications and has already demonstrated promising safety and tolerability data and early signs of clinical response.
Both platforms are protected by an extensive portfolio of IP and know-how and have the potential to yield multiple product candidates in a cost effective manner. Our portfolio of future opportunities comprises a number of early stage development candidates in addition to the three outlined above.
In July 2016 the Company listed its shares on Oslo Axess, securing funding for further development of the Company's ongoing and planned trials.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
