Targovax: Ras to the rescue

Targovax A/S's peptide-based vaccine improved survival in an investigator-led Phase I/II trial in resected pancreatic cancer, and the company is planning its own Phase I/II trial this year. The vaccine works by going after mutant Ras, a protein found in several types of cancer but generally considered a marker of non-response to treatment instead of a therapeutic target.

Mutations in the Ras family of genes - K-Ras (KRAS), v-Ha-ras Harvey rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (HRAS) and neuroblastoma Ras viral (v-Ras) oncogene (NRAS) - are markers of resistance to standard therapies in colorectal cancer (CRC) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and are also found in up to 90% of pancreatic cancers...