On August 5, 2021 HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOK, ‘HOOKIPA’), a company developing a new class of immunotherapeutics based on its proprietary arenavirus platform, reported that pre-clinical data on its replicating Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV) arenaviral-based immunotherapeutic has been published in the peer-reviewed journal, Nature Communications (Press release, Hookipa Pharma, AUG 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234585803]). The data demonstrate that HOOKIPA’s LCMV-based vector, designed to target melanoma, modulated the tumor microenvironment and induced potent, tumor antigen-specific T cell responses, resulting in tumor regression and tumor cures in a pre-clinical setting. The publication is available online.

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"The pre-clinical data published in Nature Communications add to the growing body of evidence on our arenaviral therapeutics’ ability to induce potent T cell responses and drive tumor regression and, in many cases, tumor cures," said Joern Aldag, Chief Executive Officer at HOOKIPA. "We’re pleased to see parallels in significant T cell responses, even after a single administration, between these data in melanoma and the HPV data we’ve reported in both pre-clinical and clinical settings. We believe our novel, versatile platform has the potential to redefine success in cancer immunotherapy, and we continue to drive our lead HPV program forward while exploring additional indications to address unmet needs."

Pre-clinical data featured in the article showed that replicating LCMV-based arenaviral vector administered as a monotherapy led to melanoma tumor regression in all mice, with tumor cures in about 60 percent of recipients after a single, intra-tumoral administration. Importantly, a single, local injection of the vector into the tumor also led to systemic immune responses, significantly reducing the number of lung metastases.

Other key highlights from the paper include findings that HOOKIPA’s single-vector therapy:

Modulated the tumor micro-environment, producing a shift towards immune-stimulatory cells
Produced a significant increase in tumor antigen-specific CD8+ T cells, known as killer cells, which are critical for effective tumor control
Reduced T cell exhaustion, resulting in better functional CD8+ T cells within the tumor, as well as more immune-stimulatory CD4+ T cells
Induced long-term memory and protection against melanoma tumor re-challenge
Demonstrated the ability of the arenaviral platform to break tolerance in a difficult-to-treat, poorly immunogenic melanoma model, highlighting the potential of this approach more broadly
These data reinforce the promise of HOOKIPA’s arenaviral immunotherapeutic technology to activate and mobilize anti-tumor T cells, as well as overcome some of the challenges of oncolytic virus technology.

HOOKIPA is evaluating its single-vector and alternating 2-vector technologies in cancer in an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial with HB-201 and HB-202. Each single-vector compound uses a different arenavirus backbone (Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus for HB-201 and Pichinde Virus for HB-202), while expressing the same antigen, an E7E6 fusion protein derived from HPV16. Phase 1 data on HB-200 has shown outstanding CD8+ T cell responses, preliminary efficacy as monotherapy in heavily pre-treated head and neck cancer patients who progressed on standard of care, including checkpoint inhibitors, and favorable tolerability. HOOKIPA’s HB-300 program for prostate cancer also uses the LCMV and PICV arenaviral backbones directed against three validated antigens for prostate cancer: PAP, PSA, and PSMA.