Hookipa Pharma to Wind Down Operations Following Asset Sale to Gilead

Hookipa Pharma, a once-promising immunotherapeutics biotech, has announced plans to delist from the Nasdaq and liquidate the company, marking the end of its journey in the pharmaceutical industry. This decision comes on the heels of several setbacks, including a failed merger attempt and the sale of key assets to long-time partner Gilead Sciences.

Asset Sale and Financial Struggles

In May, Hookipa transferred full ownership rights for its arenavirus immunotherapies targeting hepatitis B and HIV to Gilead Sciences for $10 million upfront. This transaction, which included "substantially all of the company's assets," left Hookipa without any revenue-generating product candidates.

The company's board, after reviewing Hookipa's financial condition, concluded that "continuing to operate is not reasonably likely to create greater value for the stockholders than... the sale of the company's remaining assets and the complete liquidation and dissolution of the company," according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Remaining Assets and Paused Development

Despite the asset sale, Hookipa still holds rights to eseba-vec, an immunotherapeutic agent for HPV16-positive cancers. This candidate was being studied in a phase 2 trial in combination with Keytruda for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. However, further clinical development activities for eseba-vec were paused in November 2024.

Additionally, the company had been developing HB-700, an immunotherapy for KRAS-mutated cancers, which was poised to enter phase 1 trials. The fate of these remaining assets remains uncertain as the company prepares for liquidation.

Recent Setbacks and Industry Impact

Hookipa's decision to wind down operations follows a challenging period for the biotech. In 2024, the company implemented layoffs after Roche terminated a collaboration on the HB-700 program. More recently, in February 2025, Hookipa called off its planned merger with Poolbeg Pharma, a move that left the rare disease company "surprised and disappointed."

The dissolution of Hookipa Pharma serves as a stark reminder of the volatile nature of the biotech industry, where promising technologies and partnerships can quickly unravel due to clinical, financial, or strategic challenges. As the company prepares to seek shareholder approval for its delisting and liquidation plans next week, the broader pharmaceutical community will be watching closely to see how this development impacts ongoing research in immunotherapies and viral vector-based treatments.