TargImmune Therapeutics AG is working to develop novel immunotherapies to treat solid tumors with high unmet need. Despite enormous medical progress, aggressive forms of cancer remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Advanced prostate, lung, breast and colon cancer account for a combined mortality of approximately 0,8M lives in Europe per year. Immunotherapies, a new form of cancer treatment that activates the patient’s own immune system, have shown enormous promise in the treatment of aggressive cancer. Despite the promise, current immunotherapies are only effective in 15-25% of patients, drugs of which are also associated with severe side effects. What is needed is therefore a next-generation immunotherapy that delivers consistent efficacy across broad patient populations whilst ensuring improved safety.
Targimmune's work is important for society as it is directly addresses the burden of cancer. In Europe, over 875,000 deaths are attributed to the most common forms of cancer, which include breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancer. For many of these cancers, 5-year survival rates can be as low as 12%. To compound the burden, incidence rates of cancer are only growing, where over 24 million cancer patients globally are expected by 2024.
In this feasibility study, the overall objective was to perform competitor, market and funding feasibility on TargImmune's pipeline drugs, and to update their business plan with results from the study.