User:Jon At Hookipa Pharma Inc/sandbox
Hookipa Biotech AG[edit]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Founded | 2011 in Vienna, Austria |
| Headquarters | Vienna |
Key people | |
Number of employees | 51 (February 2018) |
Introduction[edit]
Hookipa Biotech AG (Hookipa) is an Austrian clinical stage immuno-therapy company founded on July 8, 2011 and headquartered at the Vienna BioCenter in Vienna, Austria. Hookipa aims to develop active immunization therapies for infectious diseases and cancer with its proprietary TheraT® and Vaxwave® viral vector platforms. The pillars of the company revolve around a discovery for which Founder Prof Rolf Zinkernagel was awarded a Nobel Prize.[1]
In 2017 Hookipa opened a US site at the Alexandria LaunchLabs® in New York.[2] As of February 2018, the Hookipa team consists of 51 employees.[3]
Scientific Platorm[edit]
Hookipa´s viral vector platforms are based on arenaviruses. This family of viruses naturally elicit extremely potent T cell responses. T cells have proven to be among the most important agents to kill infected or cancerous cells. By engineering the viruses, Hookipa targets them towards pathogens relevant in the specific disease context. Once administered systemically to the body, these viruses activate Dendritic cells in-vivo, which in turn “train” T cells to search for their targets and eliminate them. Hookipa´s vectors are “off-the shelf” and can target solid tumors, regardless of whether those are primary or secondary (metastasis). In addition to the induction of antigen-specific effector CD8+ T cells, the platforms stimulate antibody production against the same disease. Hookipa’s vectors are also protected from being neutralized by vector-neutralizing antibodies, meaning they can be administered repeatedly.[4] [5]
Vaxwave®[edit]
Vaxwave® is a non-replicating virus to fight infectious diseases. In this vector the gene encoding the LCMV envelope protein, normally responsible for virus entry into target cells, has been deleted and replaced with a target gene of interest. The resulting vectors infect target cells and stimulate very potent and long-lasting immune responses, however they can no longer replicate and are therefore non-pathogenic and inherently safe.[6] [7] [8]
TheraT®[edit]
TheraT® is an attenuated replicating virus to combat cancer as a single agent or in combination with other therapies. It is capable of eliciting potent T cell responses – a crucial step in treating patients with aggressive cancers. TheraT® has proven to be safe in animals and capable of eliciting potent antigen-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T cell responses and strong tumor control in mice.[9][10]
Clinical Development[edit]
Hookipa has successfully completed the Phase 1 trial of a Vaxwave®-based prophylactic vaccine to protect against cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. Recently, Gilead Sciences Inc. and Hookipa engaged to potentially jointly research and develop functional cures for HIV and Hepatitis B infections. [11] In immuno-oncology, Hookipa is in IND enabling studies to start clinical trials with TheraT® in Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)- mediated head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.
Timeline [12][edit]
- 2011 Oct 17 Hookipa Biotech closes € 7 million Series A Financing
- 2012 Sep 18 Hookipa is awarded a grant from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency for development of its first vaccine candidate HB101
- 2013 Nov 04 Hookipa Biotech closes € 20 million ($ 27.5 million) in Series B Financing
- 2014 March 31 Hookipa Biotech Wins Best Financing Deal Award in the Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) Awards 2014
- 2014 April 22 Hookipa receives additional grant support from FFG for development of vaccine candidate HB101
- 2014 Aug 27 Appointment of John Lambert to Chairman of Board of Directors
- 2016 June 16 Appointment of Joern Aldag to CEO
- 2016 July 20 Hookipa Biotech Initiates First-in-Human Study of Cytomegalovirus Vaccine
- 2016 Oct 17 Hookipa Secures Additional Grant Support from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency to Develop Arenavirus Vector-Based Cancer Immunotherapies
- 2017 Jan 09 Hookipa Biotech Announces Publication in Clinical and Vaccine Immunology Highlighting Vaxwave® as an Effective Viral Vector for Vaccination against Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infections
- 2017 March 06 Appointment of Igor Matushansky to Global Head Research and Development
- 2017 April 18 Appointment of Reinhard Kandera to CFO
- 2017 May 04 Hookipa Biotech presents positive data from Phase 1 first-in-human trial of vaccine against cytomegalovirus
- 2017 May 26 Hookipa Biotech Announces Nature Communications Publication Showing TheraT® Turns Cold Tumors Hot
- 2017 Dec 07 Hookipa Biotech Raises $60 million (€50 million) in an Oversubscribed Round C Financing
- 2018 March 26 Hookipa Presents New Phase 1 Data for HB-101 at the World Vaccine Congress
- 2018 May 07 Hookipa Shortlisted for European Mediscience Award 2018
- 2018 May 15 Hookipa´s TheraT Replicating Viral Vector Platform published in Immunity
- 2018 June 05 Hookipa and Gilead Enter into a Collaboration and License Agreement to Develop Immunotherapies Against HIV and Hepatitis B
References[edit]
- ^ Hookipa Biotech AG. "Our Difference". Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ Xconomy (article by Ben Fidler). "Alexandria Debuts NY's Latest Bio Incubator With 13 Startups in Tow". Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ LISAvienna - Life Science Austria Vienna. "Innovation made in Vienna: Hookipa Biotech is supercharging immunotherapies with $60 million" (PDF). Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ Hookipa Biotech AG. "Hookipa Corporate Presentation (June, 2018)" (PDF). Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ Kallert, S. M., Darbre, S., Bonilla, W. V., Kreutzfeldt, M., Page, N., Müller, P., ... & Löhning, M. (26 May 2017). "Replicating viral vector platform exploits alarmin signals for potent CD8+ T cell-mediated tumour immunotherapy" (PDF). Nature communications. 8. MR 0015327.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Schleiss, M. R., Berka, U., Watson, E., Aistleithner, M., Kiefmann, B., Mangeat, B., ... & Zabeli, J. C. (2016). "Additive Protection against Congenital CMV Conferred by Combined gB/pp65 Vaccination using a Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus (LCMV) Vector. Clinical and Vaccine Immunology". Clinical and Vaccine Immunology.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Flatz, L., Hegazy, A. N., Bergthaler, A., Verschoor, A., Claus, C., Fernandez, M., ... & Van Den Broek, M. (2010). "Development of replication-defective lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus vectors for the induction of potent CD8+ T cell immunity". Nature medicine. 16 (3): 339.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ MacMaster, P. P., Shields, J. L., Alayo, Q. A., Cabral, C., Jimenez, J., Mondesir, J., ... & Provine, N. M. (2017). "Development of novel replication-defective lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus vectors expressing SIV antigens". Vaccine. 35 (1): 1–9.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Kallert, S. M., Darbre, S., Bonilla, W. V., Kreutzfeldt, M., Page, N., Müller, P., ... & Löhning, M. (26 May 2017). "Replicating viral vector platform exploits alarmin signals for potent CD8+ T cell-mediated tumour immunotherapy" (PDF). Nature communications. 8. MR 0015327.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Page N, Klimek B, De Roo M, Steinbach K, Soldati H, Lemeille S, Wagner I, Kreutzfeldt M, Di Liberto G, Vincenti I, Lingner T, Salinas G, Brück W, Simons M, Murr R, Kaye J, Zehn D, Pinschewer DD, Merkler D (15 May 2018). "Expression of the DNA-Binding Factor TOX Promotes the Encephalitogenic Potential of Microbe-Induced Autoreactive CD8+ T Cells". Immunity. 48 (5).
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Business Wire. "Hookipa and Gilead Enter into a Collaboration and License Agreement to Develop Immunotherapies Against HIV and Hepatitis B". Retrieved June 8, 2018.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Hookipa Biotech AG. "News & Events". Retrieved February 20, 2018.