NEW YORK and VIENNA, Austria, Oct. 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOK), a company developing a new class of immunotherapeutics targeting infectious diseases and cancers based on its proprietary arenavirus platform, today announced the appointment of Professor Jean-Charles Soria, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors.

“We’re honored to welcome Jean-Charles, a globally recognized scientist and oncologist, to HOOKIPA’s Board of Directors,“ said Joern Aldag, HOOKIPA’s Chief Executive Officer. “Jean-Charles’ is rounding the scientific diversity of our board with his deep expertise in oncology, immunotherapy, and clinical development. He will bring enormous value as we are expanding our clinical pipeline.”

Jean-Charles Soria, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology at the University of Paris-Saclay and currently serves as Director General of the Gustave Roussy Cancer Center, one of the world's leading cancer research institutes. During his tenure there, he has held a number of positions, including Chairman of the Department of Drug Development (2013-2017), member of the Lung Cancer Division focusing on targeted therapies (2001-2017) and Director of the Gustave Roussy SIRIC Research (Site for Integrated Research on Cancer) Program (2013-2017). From 2017 to 2019, Dr. Soria was Senior Vice President at AstraZeneca, where he was responsible for early oncology research and development with specific responsibility for immunotherapy, antibody-drug conjugates and cell therapy. Dr. Soria was also Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the MD Anderson Cancer Center from 2013 to 2017.

Professor Soria is a widely cited clinical scientist and author or co-author of more than 630 publications in leading international journals. Dr. Soria is a member of ESMO (European Society for Medical Oncology), ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology), AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) and SITC (Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer). He has held various roles in these organisations. From 2013 to 2017 he was the Editor in Chief of the ESMO flagship journal Annals of Oncology. Dr. Soria has received multiple awards from the National Academy of Medecine (2009) and the National Academy of Sciences (2014) in France. He received the prestigious ESMO award in 2018.

“HOOKIPA’s arenavirus platform is a versatile technology designed to target and treat cancer and other diseases with a potent, tailored immune response,” said Dr. Soria. “Despite considerable innovation in the field, cancer remains an area of unmet medical need. I am pleased to join the Company at this exciting stage as a member of the Board of Directors, and help advance this innovative technology to make a difference in the life of people impacted by cancer and other serious diseases.”

About HOOKIPA
HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOK) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of immunotherapeutics targeting infectious diseases and cancers based on its proprietary arenavirus platform that reprograms the body’s immune system.

HOOKIPA’s proprietary arenavirus-based technologies, non-replicating (VaxWave^®) and replicating (TheraT^®), induce robust antigen-specific CD8⁺ T cells and pathogen-neutralizing antibodies. HOOKIPA’s “off-the-shelf” viral vectors target antigen presenting cells in vivo to activate the immune system. Both technologies enable repeat administration to augment and refresh immune responses. As a monotherapy, our replicating arenavirus technology has the potential to induce CD8⁺ T cell response levels previously not achieved by other immuno-therapy approaches.

HOOKIPA’s non-replicating prophylactic Cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine candidate is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial for patients awaiting kidney transplantation. To expand its infectious disease portfolio, HOOKIPA entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. to research arenavirus-based functional cures for HIV and chronic Hepatitis B infections.

In addition, HOOKIPA is building a proprietary immuno-oncology pipeline by targeting virally mediated cancer antigens, self-antigens and next-generation antigens. The lead replicating arenavirus oncology product candidates, HB-201 and HB-202, are in development for the treatment of Human Papilloma Virus 16-positive cancers. The Phase 1/2 clinical trial for HB-201 was initiated in December 2019. The HB-202 IND application was cleared by the FDA in June 2020.

Find out more about HOOKIPA online at www.hookipapharma.com.

HOOKIPA Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements set forth in this press release constitute “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as “believes,” “expects,” “plans,” “potential,” “would” or similar expressions and the negative of those terms. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause HOOKIPA’s research and clinical development programs, future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainties inherent in the drug development process, including HOOKIPA’s programs’ early stage of development, the process of designing and conducting preclinical and clinical trials, the regulatory approval processes, the timing of regulatory filings, the challenges associated with manufacturing drug products, HOOKIPA’s ability to successfully establish, protect and defend its intellectual property, risks relating to business interruptions resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease outbreak or similar public health crises, the impact of COVID-19 on the enrollment of patients and timing of clinical results for HB-101 and other programs, and other matters that could affect the sufficiency of existing cash to fund operations and HOOKIPA’s ability to achieve the milestones under the agreement with Gilead. HOOKIPA undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of the company in general, see HOOKIPA’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 which is available on the Security and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov and HOOKIPA’s website at www.hookipapharma.com.

Investors and others should note that we announce material financial information to our investors using our investor relations website (https://ir.hookipapharma.com/), SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls and webcasts. We use these channels, as well as social media, to communicate with our members and the public about our company, our services and other issues. It is possible that the information we post on social media could be deemed to be material information. Therefore, we encourage investors, the media, and others interested in our company to review the information we post on the U.S. social media channels listed on our investor relations website.

For further information, please contact:

Media                                                                Nina Waibel                                                               Senior Director - Communications                         nina.waibel@hookipapharma.com		Investors Matt Beck         Executive Director - Investor Relations matthew.beck@hookipapharma.com
Media enquiries Instinctif Partners hookipa@instinctif.com +44 (0)20 7457 2020