On February 23, 2021 Targovax ASA (OSE: TRVX), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing immune activators to target hard-to-treat solid tumors, reported that 21-month follow-up data from the randomized phase I/II trial of ONCOS-102 in combination with standard of care chemotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) (Press release, Targovax, FEB 23, 2021, View Source [SID1234575430]).

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The trial is an open label, exploratory phase I/II trial adding ONCOS-102 to standard of care (SoC) chemotherapy (pemetrexed/cisplatin) in first and second (and later) line MPM to assess safety, immune activation and clinical efficacy vs SoC only. In total, 31 patients have been treated in the trial, with 20 patients in the experimental group receiving the ONCOS-102 and chemotherapy combination, and 11 patients in a control group receiving chemotherapy only. The 31 patients have now completed the 21-month follow-up. Immunological data and 12-month survival rate were reported in June 2020 (see link here), and 18-month survival follow-up in November 2020 (see link here).

At the 21-month follow-up, half of the patients in the first-line ONCOS-102-treated group of the randomized part of the trial were still alive, and mOS was not yet reached. Based on current survival data mOS will be 20.5 months or longer. For the first-line SoC-only control group mOS is 13.5 months, which is similar to outcomes from previously reported trials where patients received the same chemotherapy treatment1.

Dr. Magnus Jäderberg, Chief Medical Officer of Targovax, said: "It is most encouraging that survival continues to track so well in the ONCOS-102-treated first line group. We have earlier seen and reported how ONCOS-102 drives profound remodeling of the tumor microenvironment. It is now becoming clear that this is translating into long-term survival benefit. The survival data also holds up well to the recently FDA-approved ipilimumab and nivolumab combination, confirming the relevance of immunotherapy in mesothelioma and strongly suggesting combining ONCOS-102 with checkpoint inhibition could further boost efficacy in this highly malignant and difficult-to-treat cancer."