French partner pumps VHL's major drug asset

Virax's French license partner, Transgene, recently recruited Dr Hemanshu Shah as US-based Vice President, Medical Affairs.

In an interview in Transgene's first newsletter published in June, Shah seems optimistic about VHL's TG4010 in NSCLC - and for other cancers.

Dr Shah says the group's therapeutic vaccines should enable different tumor molecular targets (antigens) and different cancers to be targeted.

"Thus, TG4010, which is being tested for lung cancer, could be used for other solid tumors expressing MUC1, such as breast, kidney, prostate and colon cancer.

Shah says very few companies benefit from technology platforms such as that of Transgene, which is based on viral
vector technology and whose safety and efficacy have been tried and tested during various clinical trials carried out
in the fields of cancer and infectious diseases.

With its extensive experience and expertise, Transgene "occupies a unique position in the global immunotherapy landscape."

"It intends to add a crucial weapon to the current therapeutic arsenal, whose future most certainly depends on a strategy of combined treatments."

The Transgene newsletter notes that data on TG4010's Phase 2 TIME trial continues to flow and that the group is preparing to soon present results at a major conference before progressing to a Phase 3 Trial.

The emphasis on TG4010 given by Transgene senior directors and management in the newsletter bodes well for VHL and those buying shares in an operation with a current EG of c$2.5m.