Positive Preliminary Phase 1 Immunogenicity Data Released for Treating Advanced HPV16+ Cancers

Austria-based HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. announced on April 10, 2021, positive preliminary Phase 1 immunogenicity data for its immunotherapy candidates to treat advanced HPV16+ cancers.

The data demonstrated a robust increase in HPV16+-specific T cells, including up to 8% of circulating CD8+ T cells, after one dose of HB-201 or HB-202. And early data on HB-201 monotherapy show an increase in interferon-gamma and other immune stimulatory cytokines after a single dose, highlighting immune system activation.

Furthermore, late-breaking data presented at the AACR Annual Meeting reinforced promising anti-tumor activity reported in 2020 and underscore the potential of HOOKIPA’s novel arenavirus platform to deliver transformational cancer therapies.

“Treatment options are limited for people with metastatic HPV16+ cancers, and the likelihood for long-term survival is low,” stated Dmitriy Zamarin, M.D., Ph.D., Translational Research Director in Gynecologic Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and co-investigator in this study, in a press release.

“We don’t often see this robust and high-quality immune response, particularly in antigen-specific CD8+ T cells, from a single dose and without any combination therapy. I’m excited to see how these early immunogenicity data may translate to clinical outcomes in the future.”

The company stated 'these preliminary immunogenicity data reinforce the promising anti-tumor activity reported from this trial in December 2020 and are consistent with recently published preclinical data, which showed that intravenous HB-201 administration induced single-digit percentage of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells, while alternating administration of HB-201 and HB-202 induced a potent CD8+ T cell response, exceeding 50% of the circulating T cell pool.'

As the HB-201/HB-202 clinical trial is ongoing, HOOKIPA indicated it expects to present additional translational and clinical data at upcoming medical conferences in 2021.

HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. (HOOK) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of immunotherapeutics based on its proprietary arenavirus platform reprograms the body’s immune system.