The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the combination of TG01 and QS-21 STIMULON.

The IND is a major milestone for the TG mutant RAS program, and represents the first time that a TG vaccine is authorized for clinical trials in the USA, states the company.

“This IND is a major milestone for our KRAS program, and it is the first time a TG vaccine receives approval to initiate clinical studies in the USA. We are confident that the significant upgrades we have made to TG01 will strengthen the clinical benefit for patients, simplify administration, and make TG01 a more attractive product overall. We are now working actively with academic centers to start collaborative clinical studies with the new and improved TG01 vaccine in mutant RAS cancer patients in 2022,” says Erik Digman Wiklund, Chief Executive Officer of Targovax.

Promising clinical data

In May, an IND application for the enhanced TG01 mutant RAS cancer vaccine, with QS-21 STIMULON as adjuvant, was filed with the US FDA. The FDA has now approved this IND application, which means that the new and improved TG01 version has been authorized to proceed with clinical studies in the USA.

Targovax has previously demonstrated promising clinical data for an earlier version of TG01 in KRAS mutant pancreatic cancer. For technical and commercial reasons, Targovax has made significant improvements in TG01 to strengthen immune activation and simplify handling at the hospital and improve patient convenience.

In this new format, TG01 will be co-administered with the FDA approved adjuvant QS-21 STIMULON, provided by collaboration partner Agenus. QS-21 STIMULON is expected to enhance TG01 efficacy by driving stronger and broader mutant RAS immune responses. TG01 and QS-21 STIMULON will be mixed and dosed as a single injection, rather than two separate injections as in prior trials. Moreover, the injection will be given sub-cutaneously instead of intra-dermally. These modifications will make the administration of TG01 more patient friendly and simpler to manage for healthcare personnel.

Photo of Erik Digman Wiklund: Targovax