HOOKIPA Achieves Research Milestone in HBV Collaboration and License Agreement with Gilead
May 08 2019 - 3:47AM
HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOK), a company developing a new
class of immunotherapeutics targeting infectious diseases and
cancers based on its proprietary arenavirus platform, today
announced that it has achieved a further research milestone in its
collaboration and license agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc.
(“Gilead”) for development of a therapeutic hepatitis B virus (HBV)
vaccine. Based on the terms of the agreement, HOOKIPA is entitled
to a milestone payment from Gilead.
HOOKIPA has completed the research milestone for
HBV by designing and delivering 10 research-grade vectors to
Gilead, along with the characterization of these vectors and
delivery of a data package for the HBV program. This follows the
delivery of 14 research-grade vectors for the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) program in January.
The research vectors delivered by HOOKIPA will
be subject to further pre-clinical testing in order to validate a
clinical candidate for novel combination therapies for the
treatment of HBV.
The research collaboration and license agreement
- entered in June 2018 - grants Gilead exclusive rights to
HOOKIPA’s TheraT® and VaxWave® investigational arenavirus-based
immunization technologies for the development of immunotherapies
against HBV and HIV. Under the terms of the agreement, Gilead
provided an upfront payment of $10 million and will fund all
research and development activities. HOOKIPA will be eligible to
receive milestone payments based upon the achievement of specified
research, development, regulatory, and commercial milestones up to
a total of approximately $400 million. HOOKIPA will also be
eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales.
Joern Aldag, HOOKIPA’s Chief Executive Officer
said: “We are on track to deliver on the milestones in our
important collaboration with Gilead. The achievement of this
additional milestone not only demonstrates our joint commitment to
combat infectious diseases, but also HOOKIPA's ability to advance
and deliver results which at the same time further validates our
technology in the context of infectious disease.”
About HOOKIPAHOOKIPA Pharma
Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOK) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company
developing a new class of immunotherapeutics, targeting infectious
diseases and cancers based on its proprietary arenavirus platform
that is designed to reprogram the body’s immune system.
HOOKIPA’s proprietary arenavirus-based
technologies, VaxWave®*, a replication-deficient viral vector, and
TheraT®*, a replication-attenuated viral vector, are designed to
induce robust antigen specific CD8+ T cells and
pathogen-neutralizing antibodies. Both, VaxWave® and TheraT®, are
designed to allow for repeat administration while maintaining an
immune response. TheraT® has the potential to induce CD8+ T cell
response levels previously not achieved by other published
immuno-therapy approaches. HOOKIPA’s “off-the-shelf” viral vectors
target dendritic cells in vivo to activate the immune system.
HOOKIPA has successfully completed a Phase 1
trial of a VaxWave®-based prophylactic vaccine to protect against
cytomegalovirus infection and has started dosing patients in a
Phase 2 trial in cytomegalovirus-negative patients awaiting kidney
transplantation from cytomegalovirus-positive donors. To expand its
infectious disease portfolio, HOOKIPA has entered into a
collaboration and licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. to
jointly research and develop functional cures for HIV and Hepatitis
B infections. HOOKIPA is building a proprietary immuno-oncology
pipeline by targeting virally mediated cancer antigens,
self-antigens and next-generation antigens.
TheraT® and VaxWave® are not approved anywhere
globally and their safety and efficacy have not been
established.
Find out more about HOOKIPA online at
www.hookipapharma.com.
*Registered in Europe; Pending in the US.
HOOKIPA Forward Looking
StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking
statements, including, but not limited to, statements related to
its board membership and potential growth and success driven by
such members. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial
risks and uncertainties that could cause HOOKIPA’s research and
clinical development programs, future results, performance or
achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or
implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and
uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainties inherent in
the drug development process, including HOOKIPA’s programs’ early
stage of development, the process of designing and conducting
preclinical and clinical trials, the regulatory approval processes,
the timing of regulatory filings, the challenges associated with
manufacturing drug products, HOOKIPA’s ability to successfully
establish, protect and defend its intellectual property and other
matters that could affect the sufficiency of existing cash to fund
operations and HOOKIPA’s ability to achieve the milestones under
the agreement with Gilead. HOOKIPA undertakes no obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements. For a further
description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking
statements, as well as risks relating to the business of the
company in general, see HOOKIPA’s most recent Registration
Statement on Form S-1 and any current and periodic reports filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
HOOKIPANina
Waibel
Head of Communications
Nina.Waibel@HookipaPharma.com
Media
enquiriesSue Charles/ Ashley TappInstinctif
PartnersHookipa@Instinctif.com+44 (0)20 7457 2020
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