SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 26, 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 Karin Ann Thacker, M.Sc., as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance. Ms. Thacker joins Harpoon from Gritstone Oncology where she most recently served as Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs.
“I am pleased to welcome Karin Thacker to Harpoon’s executive management team to oversee our global regulatory affairs and quality assurance efforts,” said Gerald McMahon, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Harpoon Therapeutics. “Karin is a deeply experienced regulatory and quality assurance executive in the biopharma industry and I am confident she will contribute to the advancement of our TriTAC® T cell engager pipeline programs as they continue to advance forward in clinical studies.”
Ms. Thacker joins Harpoon with more than 20 years of leadership experience in regulatory affairs and quality assurance in the biopharmaceutical industry. At Gritstone, she built out the Regulatory Affairs function, served as the lead on two INDs, and provided regulatory strategic expertise on the development of personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines, bispecific antibodies, biomarkers and companion diagnostics. She also led FDA interactions on the design and quality systems for the company’s GMP bioinformatics and manufacturing facilities. Prior to Gritstone, she served as Senior Director, Head of Regulatory Development, Global Regulatory Affairs at Puma Biotechnology. She has also held positions at Gilead Sciences, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Genitope Corporation, Chiron Corporation, and Sanofi Pasteur in roles of increasing responsibility. Ms. Thacker received her M.Sc., and B.Sc. (hons) degrees in microbiology from the University of Manitoba.
“I am excited to join the team at Harpoon Therapeutics where there is an energy to do innovative work with the goal of impacting the treatment of cancer patients with advanced solid tumors and hematologic malignancies,” said Ms. Thacker. “Harpoon has built an impressive and highly differentiated development pipeline, and I look forward to contributing to regulatory strategies to bring the potential of Harpoon’s drug candidates to their full medical and commercial potential.”
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 1/2a 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 1/2 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 progress, timing, scope and anticipated results of clinical trials, the timing of the presentation of data, the association of data with potential treatment outcomes, the development and advancement of product candidates, the timing of development milestones for product candidates, and the anticipated potential impacts to Harpoon Therapeutics’ business from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 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
media@harpoontx.com
Westwicke ICR
Robert H. Uhl
Managing Director
858-356-5932
robert.uhl@westwicke.com