Targovax announces that the first patient has been recruited in the company’s ONCOS-102 study in advanced or unresectable melanoma patients who have had progression following checkpoint inhibitor.

The study is conducted at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

“This study will allow us to assess in more detail the immune activating properties of ONCOS-102 already observed in earlier studies. The study also addresses a major medical need, as the majority of patients with advanced melanoma do not respond clinically to checkpoint inhibitors. Moreover, we are delighted to do this collaboration with one of the top cancer research centres in the world,” says Anne-Kirsti Aksnes, VP Clinical Development at Targovax.

ONCOS C824 is an open label, Phase Ib combination study in 12 patients with advanced melanoma, whose disease has progressed despite prior treatment with pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck &Co) or nivolumab (Opdivo, Bristol Myers Squibb) and who will be sequentially administered ONCOS-102 followed by pembrolizumab. The primary objective of the study is to assess safety and immune activation at lesions and in peripheral blood. The secondary objective is to assess clinical response rate.

ONCOS-102, Targovax’s lead drug candidate, is an engineered oncolytic adenovirus expressing granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF).