Harpoon Therapeutics Announces Changes to Board of Directors
Harpoon Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HARP) appointed Joanne Viney, Ph.D., as an independent board member, enhancing its leadership with her extensive immunology expertise. Dr. Viney, who co-founded Pandion Therapeutics, has held key roles at Biogen, Amgen, and Immunex. She replaces Drs. Luke Evnin and Patrick Baeuerle, who step down but will continue to advise Harpoon. This board transition is expected to strengthen Harpoon's focus on advancing its TriTAC® T cell engager platform aimed at treating solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.
- Appointment of Joanne Viney, Ph.D., is expected to bring a fresh perspective and bolster the company's immuno-oncology efforts.
- Viney's extensive experience in drug development and immunology may enhance Harpoon's clinical pipeline.
- Departure of key board members Evnin and Baeuerle may raise concerns about continuity and leadership experience.
Joanne Viney, Ph.D., brings expertise as an immunologist and veteran biotech executive to the board
Drs. Luke Evnin and Patrick Baeuerle step down from the Harpoon board
Dr. Baeuerle remains as a scientific advisor to the company
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HARP), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a novel class of T cell engagers, today announced the appointment of veteran biotech executive Joanne Viney, Ph.D., to its board of directors as an independent board member. Current board members, Luke Evnin, Ph.D, and Patrick Baeuerle, Ph.D., will be stepping down from the board. Following these changes, Harpoon’s board will be composed of nine directors.
“Jo is an accomplished executive with an impressive track record of scientific achievement and drug development,” said Jerry McMahon, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Harpoon Therapeutics. “Her expertise as an immunologist will be helpful to the company as we continue to advance our TriTAC® T cell engager platform.”
“I am excited to join the board of Harpoon and am looking forward to contributing to the company’s immuno-oncology efforts and impacting the lives of people with cancer,” said Dr. Viney.
Dr. Viney is an entrepreneurial scientist and experienced biotech executive with deep autoimmune and inflammatory disease expertise. Dr. Viney currently serves as President, CSO and Co-founder of Pandion Therapeutics, a privately held startup drug discovery and development company focused on developing modular biologics for regulating autoimmunity and inflammatory disease. Previously, Dr. Viney worked at Biogen where she began as Vice President, Immunology Research and was responsible for building and advancing the company’s immunology portfolio before moving on to become Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery and a member of the senior R&D leadership team. Previous roles include Director of Inflammation Research at Amgen as well as Director, Department of Autoimmunity and Inflammation at Immunex. She received a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of London, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School and a B.Sc. in biophysical science from the University of East London. Dr. Viney is a member of the Board of Directors of Finch Therapeutics and Quench Bio, and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for HotSpot Therapeutics.
“In addition, I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to Patrick Baeuerle and Luke Evnin, who were instrumental in founding Harpoon in 2015, for their years of service, dedication, impactful contributions, and valuable insights that both of them have brought to Harpoon,” said Jerry McMahon.
“In the relatively short time since Harpoon was launched, the company has created a significant clinical pipeline of products that have the potential to impact human diseases, and I am proud to leave the Harpoon board in capable hands to execute against the ambitious vision for the company and to deliver value to its stakeholders,” said Luke Evnin, Ph.D., Founder and Managing Director of MPM Capital.
“While I am leaving the Harpoon board, I am pleased to continue to advise the company on scientific matters as the company executes its founding mission to bring T cell engagers to cancer patients with solid tumor malignancies,” said Patrick Baeuerle, Ph.D., Executive Partner at MPM Capital and CSO of Cullinan Oncology.
About Harpoon Therapeutics
Harpoon Therapeutics is 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 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. HPN424 targets PSMA and is in a Phase 1 trial for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. HPN536 targets mesothelin and is in a Phase 1/2a trial for cancers expressing mesothelin, initially focused on ovarian and pancreatic cancers. HPN217 targets BCMA and is in a Phase 1/2 trial for relapsed, refractory multiple myeloma. HPN328 targets DLL3 and Harpoon plans to initiate a Phase 1/2a trial in the second half of 2020. 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 “may,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “target,” “estimate,” “intend” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. 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. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about the timing of clinical trials. Many factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results, including unexpected safety or efficacy data observed during clinical studies, clinical trial site activation or enrollment rates that are lower than expected, unanticipated or greater than anticipated impacts or delays due to COVID-19, changes in expected or existing competition, changes in the regulatory environment, the uncertainties and timing of the regulatory approval process, and unexpected litigation or other disputes. 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 the “Risk Factors” sections contained therein. 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.
Contacts:
Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc.
Georgia Erbez
Chief Financial Officer
650-443-7400
media@harpoontx.com
Westwicke ICR
Robert H. Uhl
Managing Director
858-356-5932
robert.uhl@westwicke.com
FAQ
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