Scancell Share Discussion Threads

[sarkasm] 23/2/2018 12:57

Big pharma could turn to viruses to boost cancer immunotherapies

Big pharma could turn to viruses to boost cancer immunotherapies
Richard Staines Richard Staines
February 23, 2018

Merck & Co’s $394 million acquisition of Viralytics has stoked interest in oncolytic viruses, a class of drugs that have been in the shadow of the checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T therapies that are helping to set the standard of care in cancer.

But Merck’s deal to acquire Viralytics suggests this could be about to change, according to one of the Australian company’s close competitors, Norway’s Targovax.

Representatives of Targovax interviewed by pharmaphorum said the marketplace is set to get increasingly crowded in the future as pharma tries to use the approach to improve efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors.

There is only one FDA-approved oncolytic virus, Amgen’s Imlygic (talimogene laherparepvec) in 2015, but sales have been disappointing.

But with another 10 oncolytic viruses in clinical development, and another 40 in labs, the hope is that oncolytic viruses could be used to ‘prime’ tumours before treatment with checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy, which has a response rate as low as 20% in some cancers.

Oncolytic viruses work by injecting genetic material into cancer cells, which modify them and make them visible to the immune system, which moves in to destroy the.

The issue with Imlygic is that it is approved as a monotherapy – and the thinking is that oncolytic viruses are likely to be more effective when used in combination with other drugs, notably immunotherapy drugs such as checkpoint inhibitors.

This is the approach taken by Viralytics, and by Targovax, which is looking to find partners as it progresses its two oncolytic viruses through the clinical trial process.

Now that Viralytics is effectively part of Merck & Co, this leaves Targovax as one of the most advanced independent biotechs working with oncolytic viruses.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has also done a big oncolytic virus deal, acquiring rights late last year to an “armed virus” targeting cancer from the UK biotech, PsiOxus Therapeutics, worth almost $900 million if the project is successful.

Merck deal ‘no suprise’

Targovax’s chief medical officer, Magnus Jaderberg, told pharmaphorum in an interview that the Viralytics deal came as no surprise following strong phase 2 results from its Cavatak, based on the Coxsackievirus, back in 2015.

Magnus Jaderberg

Jaderberg said: “As soon as they released the data we felt that somebody would go after them and we were right. We were not surprised about the deal and we think it is very positive for us.”

He expects more interest in oncolytic viruses from Roche and Genentech, which so far have not done a big oncolytic virus deal, perhaps to boost their immunotherapy Tecentriq, which has produced some mixed results in trials.

Already partnered with Medimmune on one deal, Targovax is planning a phase 2 trial of its adenovirus-based drug TG01, targeting resected pancreatic cancer in combination with Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab).

This could be extended to a phase 3 trial leading to registration in this disease, where there has been no significant progress for the best part of two decades CHECK.

Targeting RAS mutations, the drug could be used in 30% of all cancers that express this biomarker, suggesting a sales potential well in excess of the $400 million a year the company forecasts if approved in early pancreatic cancer.

Also in the Targovax pipeline is ONCOS-102, an oncolytic virus, which is in phase 1b/2 trials for mesothelioma and could produce an early readout in the coming weeks.

It is also developing ONCOS-102 in partnership with AstraZeneca’s MedImmune unit and the Cancer Research Institute for ovarian and colorectal cancer.

Jaderberg has been busy tapping up his contacts in big pharma having previously worked as chief medical officer for Bristol Myers Squibb in Europe.

He has already been in talks with manufacturers of checkpoint inhibitors to try and get licensing deals in place to fund further development.

Wiklund said: “It is tough as a small biotech to lift a phase 3 programme – it is obvious we are interested in licensing out one or both of our programmes.”

But Targovax’s CFO Erik Digman Wiklund was cagey about the prospects of a big buyout as seen in the case of Viralytics. “It is incredibly unpredictable, it is difficult to make any comment,” he said.

[miavoce] 23/2/2018 11:53

Placings certainly do happen when a company's share price has risen off the back of good news. In these cases it is win win - ii's get volume shares without having to go into the market (in which case they would have to pay more), and the company gets cash at or around the prevailing share price (maybe even a premium if the news driving the price presages further share price increase).

Whether SCLP will undertake a placing to take advantage of the improved price remains to be seen (IMO I expect not - I believe funding will come from another route), but I don't believe that SCLP's share price is being / can be artificially driven up to enable a higher priced placing.

[the real lozan] 23/2/2018 11:21

Smiler -
Hope you 'hit-your-target'... BUT... Will you stick with your 'plan' ...or be tempted to 'stray-from-you-plan' and RISK +++ ???
Remember folks -
N B = The 'elephant is STILL in the room'...{ ANY money presaged by RG = WILL come at a COST}
And - A 'placing' may STILL be "On the CARDS" ..especially, with a more CONvenient S P
Some might think this is *Set-up* for just such a 'move' ???

[miavoce] 23/2/2018 11:14

How is it being pushed up red army ? Normally before a raise the price tends to fall - see it lots of times.

[red army] 23/2/2018 11:12

I get the feeling that this is being pushed up for a cash raise anytime soon. 15p at the moment but was hoping for a rise to 22p to get a 20p raise.

[gazza] 23/2/2018 11:11

Terror, the REAL astute were accumulating shares at 10p rather than slagging off the CEO.

[miavoce] 23/2/2018 11:07

Surely something brewing. Maybe we are about the see the arrival of the money presaged by RG.

[terror] 23/2/2018 11:04

70% rise since Goodfellow was ousted.

The ASTUTE knew who was the weakest link

[terror] 23/2/2018 10:04

Is it £1 yet with this TrHYPE we see on the MFF, or is it still 30p below their buy in price?

[wanderer1210_0] 23/2/2018 09:26

Holding out for 17p which gives me circa 40% profit, I will sell half of my holding if we get there

[the real lozan] 23/2/2018 09:16

TOSH 13836 - ditto
However, AS ever --- from a 'treat this as a PROFITABLE vehicle' ... rather than not =
A poster on M F F F earlier asked the *Age-old* = "I am £5k up... should I sell/ take it" ??? {OWTTE}.... Whilst the main topic is on = " Can't buy any /reg trades only"
One must ALWAYS remember -
Whilst, when 'enjoying the ride UP'.... markets / MMs invariably *LOCK-OUT* a share with the old "Can't BUY'
WHEN the tide turns DOWN... They WILL *LOCK-OUT* the chance to sell, with the old "Can't SELL"
.
A bird in the hand ??? { Bearing in mind FUNDING IS STILL an ISSUE }

[tosh 123] 23/2/2018 08:32

hopefully, this rally will have some substance and will propel this back into the 20's within the next few days.
I don't want to tempt fate, but it has all the hallmarks of a genuine rise !

up 2p.... only another 585p to go !

[torquayfan] 23/2/2018 05:25

Fragma - well said ! Or . . another false dawn ?
But GLA holders of this astute investment.

DRD - you seem to have adopted the style and personality of one less fortunate than your Goodself ? Really M8 - one Lozan is too much. ATB

Wanderer - you are very mischievous - were you on LSE before ?
Your 13814 ? Bad boy !

[fragma] 22/2/2018 18:25

Very good day today for Scancell, looks like she is on the cusp of a breakout.

I hope the Astute have taken their positions for the ride up to the top of the teens.

[drdobson1] 22/2/2018 17:42

As you say only £5.86 to go and contrast that with the ASTUTE who are possibly sitting on a profit or have freebies at the moment with the tRHYPERS who are still well underwater.
So much more comfortable ride for the ASTUTE who can afford to see how this plays out whilst another FALSE dawn may push some of the trHYPERS over the edge.
As for the CONmander in Chief HE is already OVER the EDGE sometime ago.Unless of course he is TRADING this as we know what a liar he is.

[oldnotwise] 22/2/2018 16:23

Tosh
Hehe
ATB

[tosh 123] 22/2/2018 16:12

ONW
It would be great to see it back in the 20's - 30's, but I wont hold my breath just yet.
As you say theres plenty of news, and the one big difference this time ( as I have said before ),is the new BOD start with a clean slate, so lets give them the benefit of the doubt.
The elephant is still here though ( and they know it ) so hopefully their focus is now on shifting it. Get that out of the way and I can see this starting a new blue era, but leave it there, and the share price will just drift back from whence it came.
Nice little rally all the same.
Only another £5.86 to go !

[oldnotwise] 22/2/2018 15:57

Tosh
Fair comment... but hey, would be good to see a bit of a rerate, I think there's enough positives to allow for a little upward movement....
There, i said it hehe.. :-)
Anyway, seen plenty of false dawns before, but I do think there's a bit of room now...
We all know about the science.... it's time for the pure commercials... :-)
AIMO
ATB

[tosh 123] 22/2/2018 15:46

not big volume though....hmmmm

[tosh 123] 22/2/2018 15:44

ONW
Yes indeed. Something may be a foot ! Lets hope so.

[oldnotwise] 22/2/2018 15:39

Looking interesting... Fingers crossed...
ATB

[gooosed] 22/2/2018 12:53

This article may be of interest to some - particularly given the collaboration between Scancell & BioNTech with their personalized approach to Cancer Vaccines.



I hope Lindy expanded on the Moditope platforms place in the role of personalized vaccines at the Calculus Investor Forum. Still awaiting the recording.

[drdobson1] 21/2/2018 19:32

Yes good we can all enjoy polite and informed comment whilst t’other place is in meltdown.
The dim witted one has been quiet of late but perhaps his slow thought process is ready to concede that even with the recent validations of the science and the departure of the ineffective previous CEO the ASTUTE have been proved right again.
Until the FUNDING on SCIB 1 is SORTED by RNS and NOT falsely linked to a Cancer Charity then this share price will move down and not up to £6 a share.
Perhaps I am be8 g unkind to the idiot as he still has 6 months to get to his target.Guffaw