HOOKIPA Pharma's Board of Directors has begun conversations with Poolbeg Pharma about the potential of an all-share acquisition.
The non-binding discussions may lead to HOOKIPA's merger with Poolbeg, which specialises in biopharmaceuticals and would significantly diversify HOOKIPA's current therapeutic pipeline.
If the acquisition goes ahead, the two would create a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of medicines for unmet medical needs.
Developing next-generation immunotherapies
According to HOOKIPA, the pair would place a special focus on next-gen immunotherapies, which would be used to treat cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
Notably, the combination of HOOKIPA and Poolbeg would allow the former access to Poolbeg's lead asset HB-700, which is a multi-KRAS targeting immunotherapy, which could support patients with hard to treat cancers.
Poolbeg also holds POLB 001 under its portfolio; POLB 001 is an orally dosed small molecule which could act as a preventative therapy for cytokine release syndrome (CRS), which is a common but serious side effect associated with cancer immunotherapies.
If the merger goes ahead, the combined group would have two partnered programmes with Gilead Sciences, allowing the potential for significant development and commercialisation milestones, as well as sales royalites for the combined group's shareholders.