Austria-based Hookipa Pharma announced an agreement to sell its remaining oncology-focused immunotherapy assets to US-based biotech NeoTrail Therapeutics, primarily focused on two programs: HB-200 (eseba-vec) and HB-700. Transaction specifics related to the deal were not disclosed.

Deal context

Of note, financial pressures last year led Hookipa to announce it would shut down as a company, moving to delist from the Nasdaq and sell off its assets. In May 2025, Hookipa sold two of its assets to partner Gilead Sciences for USD 10 million. HB-200 and HB-700, both developed on Hookipa’s proprietary arenavirus platform, are thought to be Hookipa’s last remaining assets.

HB-200 (eseba-vec) is an investigational arenavirus-based immunotherapy for HPV16-positive cancers that alternates two replicating viral vectors, HB-201 (LCMV) and HB-202 (PICV), both encoding a non-oncogenic but immunogenic HPV16 E6/E7 fusion antigen. The program has generated positive Phase II data in combination with pembrolizumab in first-line recurrent or metastatic HPV16-positive head and neck cancer.

HB-700 is a Phase I-ready arenaviral immunotherapy targeting multiple common KRAS mutations (G12D, G12V, G12R, G12C, and G13D) across solid tumors including lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers. The product candidate received US FDA IND clearance in April 2024. The technology attracted Roche to partner on development in a 2022 deal, however, development stalled after Roche withdrew from the agreement in January 2024.

NeoTrail was formed to build a portfolio of next-generation biologics with particular emphasis on vector-based delivery and immuno-modulation, and gains a set of oncology candidates that may accelerate its entry into clinical development. Prior to this deal, NeoTrail had disclosed collaborations with academic centers and industry partners on vector engineering and gene delivery approaches, though none specifically of this scale in oncology.