Hookipa Biotech Closes €7 million Series A Financing led by Sofinnova Partners
Vienna, Austria October 17, 2011 – Hookipa Biotech, a startup biotech company specialized in developing new generation vaccines, today announced that it has raised €7 million Series A financing led by Sofinnova Partners. Forbion Capital Partners joined the syndicate as the co-investor.
Founded in July 2011, in Austria, Hookipa Biotech has developed a proprietary technology platform, VaxwaveTM, dedicated to genetic vaccines for the prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of viral diseases. VaxwaveTM introduces a new approach to vaccination by providing long lasting and potent stimulation of both cellular and humoral immunity; the platform has been validated in different disease models. The company will use the Series A funds to advance its lead product HB101 through pre-clinical development and a Phase I proof of concept study, and to further industrialize and validate the VaxwaveTM technology.
Dr. Katherine Cohen, CEO of Hookipa Biotech commented: “I am excited to lead the company and thrilled to close our first financing round with renowned international venture capital investors. Sofinnova’s several decades of experience in building up successful biotech companies, and Forbion’s track record success and especially in-depth expertise in biologics and vaccine industry make both ideal partners for Hookipa Biotech. Together we share the vision of building a new, innovative class of vaccines. Our cutting edge VaxwaveTM technology platform introduces a new approach to vaccines and harbors the
potential for meeting the tremendous needs of the pharmaceutical industry for the next generation of innovative vaccines.”
“Effective vaccines inducing a potent combination of cellular and humoral immunity represent the next frontier in vaccinology. Hookipa’s Vaxwave™ technology addresses the industry’s current shortcomings, potentially paving the way for the treatment of numerous persistent viral infections. Sofinnova Partners will bring its expertise and open its network to the company; and I am thrilled to work alongside Katherine Cohen in building Hookipa Biotech’s success”, commented Graziano Seghezzi, Partner at Sofinnova Partners.