Squire Patton Boggs has advised HOOKIPA Pharma Inc (NASDAQ: HOOK), a company developing a new class of immunotherapies based on its proprietary arenavirus platform, on a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Roche to develop HB-700 for KRAS-mutated cancers and a second undisclosed novel arenaviral immunotherapy.
A team led by partner Dr Rüdiger Herrmann and director Jochen Eimer, from the Corporate Practice and Life Sciences Group in Frankfurt, advised HOOKIPA on the agreement, the company's first oncology licensing collaboration.
HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel immunotherapies, based on its proprietary arenavirus platform, which are designed to mobilize and amplify targeted T cells and thereby fight or prevent serious disease.
Through the collaboration, HOOKIPA will conduct research and early clinical development through Phase 1b for HB-700, a novel investigational arenaviral immunotherapy for the treatment of KRAS-mutated cancers. Upon the completion of the Phase 1b trial, Roche has the right to assume development responsibility and to commercialize licensed products across multiple indications upon approval. The agreement also includes an option for Roche to license a second arenaviral cancer immunotherapy.
"We are delighted to support HOOKIPA in this important new collaboration with Roche," commented Dr Herrmann. "It will leverage HOOKIPA's arenaviral technology to support the development of novel therapies for KRAS-mutated cancers."