SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: HARP), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing novel T cell engagers, announced today that AbbVie has notified the company that it will not exercise the exclusive license option of the parties’ Development and Option Agreement in connection with Harpoon’s HPN217 program, which targets B cell maturation antigen, or BCMA. ​The Agreement, which will terminate effective October 12, 2023, granted AbbVie an option to a worldwide, exclusive license to the HPN217 program. The program has been and will remain exclusively owned by Harpoon, and the company plans to complete the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial with data to support the next phase of development.

“There is a significant unmet medical need for patients living with advanced multiple myeloma who have progressed after prior treatments, including patients with prior BCMA-targeted therapies, and we remain confident in HPN217’s potential to offer these patients a differentiated treatment option,” said Julie Eastland, President and CEO of Harpoon Therapeutics. “We will share interim results with the scientific community at the upcoming IMS meeting. The preliminary data from the HPN217 study continue to be encouraging with a favorable safety profile.”

Harpoon previously announced abstract acceptance and a poster presentation of preliminary data up to and including 12 mg cohorts from the dose escalation portion of the Phase 1 study of HPN217 in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The presentation will take place on September 28, 2023 at the 20^th International Myeloma Society (IMS) Annual Meeting being held in Athens, Greece.

Harpoon continues to be committed to advancing its T cell engager pipeline, including HPN328, DLL3 targeting TriTAC^® and HPN601, an EpCAM targeting ProTriTAC™, and plans to present the interim Phase 1/2 clinical data from HPN328 at European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) being held on October 20-24, 2023.

About Harpoon Therapeutics 
Harpoon Therapeutics is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing a novel class of T cell engagers that harness the power of the body’s immune system to treat patients suffering from cancer and other diseases. T cell engagers are engineered proteins that direct a patient’s own T cells to kill target cells that express specific proteins, or antigens, carried by the target cells. Using its proprietary Tri-specific T cell Activating Construct (TriTAC^®) platform, Harpoon is developing a pipeline of novel TriTACs initially focused on the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Harpoon has also developed a proprietary ProTriTAC™ platform, which applies a prodrug concept to its TriTAC platform to create a therapeutic T cell engager that remains inactive until it reaches the tumor. Harpoon’s third proprietary technology platform, extended release TriTAC-XR, is designed to mitigate cytokine release syndrome. For additional information about Harpoon Therapeutics, please visit www.harpoontx.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “continue,” “plan,” “will,” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to Harpoon’s plans to complete the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial, the therapeutic potential of HPN217, plans concerning advancement of Harpoon’s pipeline, data presentation plans and other statements that are not historical fact. These forward-looking statements are based on Harpoon Therapeutics’ expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties that could cause Harpoon Therapeutics’ clinical development programs, future results or performance to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These and other factors that may cause Harpoon Therapeutics’ actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press release are discussed in Harpoon Therapeutics’ filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including under “Risk Factors” in Harpoon Therapeutics’ quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, and future filings by Harpoon Therapeutics. Except as required by law, Harpoon Therapeutics assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, even as new information becomes available.

Harpoon Contact
Investors and Media:
ICR Westwicke
Robert H. Uhl
Managing Director
858-356-5932
robert.uhl@westwicke.com

Source: Harpoon Therapeutics Inc.