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Fresh off elevating $70 million by a collection C spherical simply over a month in the past, Harpoon Therapeutics introduced it should go public with an $86.25 million IPO to additional help its portfolio of early-stage T-cell engagers geared toward strong tumors.
The South San Francisco-based firm filed confidentially with the SEC in late October, earlier than it closed its mid-November fundraising round, which had introduced on new buyers together with OrbiMed, Cormorant, Ridgeback Capital Investments, Lilly Asia Ventures and NS Investment. It plans to commerce on the Nasdaq utilizing the image HARP, although stock pricing phrases haven’t been disclosed.
Harpoon believes its TriTAC platform can overcome the obstacles in tissue penetration confronted by T-cell engager therapies, which have beforehand seen success towards blood cancers, equivalent to with Amgen’s 2014 approval of Blincyto in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Its TriTACs are single polypeptides with three binding websites, however are a 3rd the dimensions of monoclonal antibodies. While two websites bind to most cancers antigens and T cells, respectively, the third binds with albumin to prolong its serum half-life to three or 4 days, which the corporate expects will enable once- or twice-weekly dosing.
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Harpoon’s lead candidate, HPN424, is at the moment in a phase 1 trial of 40 sufferers with metastatic castration-resistant prostate most cancers, with preliminary information anticipated in 2019, in accordance to the corporate’s prospectus.
The firm hopes to convey its second candidate into scientific growth within the first half of 2019, with HPN536 as a therapy for strong tumors expressing mesothelin, an antigen present in mesothelioma and pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancers. Overall, Harpoon plans to have all 4 of its TriTAC candidates within the clinic by the top of 2020, together with in a number of myeloma and small cell lung most cancers.
In addition, the corporate’s second platform, often called ProTriTAC, goals to develop prodrug variations which might be inactive till they meet tumor-associated proteases, to keep away from injury to healthy tissues. Harpoon plans to launch IND-enabling ProTriTAC research in 2019.
Harpoon beforehand signed a discovery and licensing take care of AbbVie in October 2017, granting the Big Pharma worldwide rights to develop and commercialize its TriTAC expertise along with soluble T cell receptors. The deal included $17 million upfront, plus up to $600 million in potential milestone funds.
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