Hookipa Pharma provides update as Roche pulls out of deal

Austrian arenaviral technology firm Hookipa Pharma (Nasdaq: HOOK) yesterday announced a reprioritization, after it received a notification from Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX) that it has decided to terminate the collaboration and licensing agreement for Hookipa’s HB-700 program in KRAS mutated cancers.

Hookipa had been eligible to receive as much as $930 million as part of the agreement with Roche for HB-700, which has yet to enter the clinic. News of the termination saw Hookipa’s shares close down 10% on Monday, but recovered 4.3% to $0.66 in pre-market trading.

To date, Hookipa says it has met all go-forward criteria under the agreement and remains eligible for a final milestone payment associated with investigational new drug (IND) submission. Effective April 25, 2024, Hookipa will regain full control of the associated intellectual property portfolio and have full collaboration and licensing rights for this program. As part of its strategic refocus, Hookipa will pause development activities related to HB-300 and most of its pre-clinical research activities.