Harpoon Preclinical Data Supports Myeloma Med Development at ASH

Harpoon’s Third Product Candidate is Slated for Clinical Development in 2019

Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc (“Harpoon”), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a novel class of T cell engagers that harness the power of the body’s immune system to treat patients with cancer and other diseases, today presented preclinical data supporting the development of HPN217, a new compound targeting B cell maturation antigen (BCMA). Generated from Harpoon’s Tri-specific T cell Activating Construct (“TriTAC”) platform, HPN217 is engineered to re-direct a patient’s own T cells to kill BCMA-positive cancer cells. HPN217 is Harpoon’s first TriTAC designed for the treatment of hematologic cancers, such as multiple myeloma. Data were presented at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in San Diego, held December 1-4.

“We believe the characteristics of HPN217 – including its structure as a single flexible polypeptide, low molecular weight, and in vitro and in vivo stability with half-life extension – offer advantages over conventional bispecific antibodies targeting BCMA,” said Che-Leung Law, PhD, Harpoon’s Vice President, Translational Medicine. “Supported by preclinical data showing tumor growth inhibition in models of multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma, HPN217 is expected to enter a Phase 1 clinical trial for multiple myeloma in 2019.”

“Recent clinical data has validated the importance of BCMA as a drug target for T cells in the treatment of multiple myeloma,” said Gerald McMahon, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harpoon. “The introduction of our third TriTAC compound demonstrates the ability of our technology platform to generate new product candidates.”

The poster entitled “Preclinical and Nonclinical Characterization of HPN217: A Tri-specific T cell Activating Construct (TriTAC) Targeting B Cell Maturation Antigen (BCMA) for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma” can be found on the Publications page of Harpoon’s website.

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/harpoon-therapeutics-presents-preclinical-data-supporting-development-of-hpn217-a-new-bcma-targeting-tritac-at-the-2018-american-society-of-hematology-ash-annual-meeting/