HOOKIPA Pharma To Cut Jobs Following Collaboration Termination By Roche

(RTTNews) - HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. (HOOK) on Monday announced that Roche Holding has informed them of its decision to terminate the collaboration and licensing agreement for HOOKIPA's HB-700 program in KRAS mutated cancers.

Effective April 25, 2024, HOOKIPA will regain global development rights for HB-700, and it intends to submit an IND for HB-700 in the first quarter of 2024 and will seek a collaboration partner.

Following this, the company plans to lay off 30% of its employees to implement cost-saving initiatives.

The company has decided to pause further development of its HB-300 and most of its preclinical research activities.

The company stated that it is set to concentrate its resources on prioritizing the clinical development of a randomized trial for its HB-200 program in human papillomavirus 16 positive (HPV16+) HNSCC and advancing its two Gilead-partnered infectious disease cure programs for hepatitis B and human immunodeficiency virus.