HOOKIPA Advances HIV and HBV Vaccine Research with Gilead

HOOKIPA Pharma (NASDAQ:HOOK) announced that it has made progress in its collaboration with Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) for arenavirus-based therapeutics intended to support cures for chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections.

As quoted in the press release:

HOOKIPA and Gilead Sciences designed and tested multiple arenaviral vectors expressing HIV and HBV immunogens, optimizing each for potential preclinical immunogenicity, safety and manufacturability. In 2019, HOOKIPA earned multiple Gilead milestone payments for the delivery of research vectors and advancing the programs closer to clinical studies. On the basis of promising preclinical data, Gilead has committed to preparations to advance the HBV and HIV vectors toward development, with the HBV development decision triggering an additional milestone payment to HOOKIPA. To enable the development activities and expanded research programs, Gilead has agreed to reserve manufacturing capacity and expanded the HOOKIPA resources allocated to the Gilead collaboration.

Click here to read the full press release.