Targovax plans checkpoint combo trial after posting early data on oncolytic virus

Targovax has shared data from an early-phase trial that administered ONCOS-102 to mesothelioma patients. The response rate was lower in the ONCOS-102 arm than in the control cohort, but Targovax saw positives elsewhere, leading it to outline plans to pair the drug with a checkpoint inhibitor. ONCOS-102 is an adenovírus-based cancer therapy that Targovax thinks can improve on treatment options available to patients with pleural mesothelioma, a type of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs. That belief is underpinned by preclinical evidence that ONCOS-102 directly kills cancer cells and triggers an innate immune response.