NEW YORK & VIENNA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. (“HOOKIPA”), a company developing a new class of immunotherapeutics, targeting infectious diseases and cancers based on its proprietary arenavirus platform, today announced that it has completed a $37.4 million (€33.2 million) series D financing.
The investment was led by Redmile Group with participation of additional new investors Invus and Samsara BioCapital, as well as a number of current investors.
The new funding will be primarily used to progress the clinical development of HOOKIPA’s lead development programs, HB-101, a prophylactic cytomegalovirus vaccine candidate, currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients awaiting kidney transplantation as well as HB-201 and HB-202, the Company’s lead oncology product candidates, in development for the treatment of human papillomavirus-positive cancers. In addition, HOOKIPA plans to apply its arenavirus platform to develop additional novel immuno-oncology product candidates.
Joern Aldag, Chief Executive Officer of HOOKIPA said: “We are pleased that this outstanding group of new and current investors supported this financing, which enables us to advance clinical development of our lead development programs. This financing also supports the potential and uniqueness of our novel technology platform and reinforces us in our mission to reprogram the immune system to combat infectious diseases and cancer”.
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About HOOKIPA
HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. 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.
Find out more about HOOKIPA online at www.hookipapharma.com.
*Registered in Europe; Pending in the US.
