Exploring the Latest Trispecific Antibody Fusion Protein Deal by Harpoon Therapeutics: A Guide to Rapidly Accessing Transaction Insights

On January 8, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) and Harpoon Therapeutics jointly announced that they have reached a definitive agreement whereby MSD, through a subsidiary, will acquire Harpoon for $23.00 per share in cash, with a total equity value of approximately $680 million.

Harpoon’s leading candidate, HPN328, is a T cell engager that targets Delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3)—an inhibitory Notch ligand with high expression in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and neuroendocrine tumors. In March 2022, the U.S. FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation to HPN328 for the treatment of SCLC.

About HPN-328

HPN-328 is a trispecific antibody fusion protein that targets CD3, DLL3, and albumin. Trispecific antibodies are a type of antibody that can simultaneously bind to three different targets. In the case of HPN-328, it targets CD3, DLL3, and albumin. CD3 is a protein found on the surface of T cells, which play a crucial role in the immune response against cancer cells. DLL3 is a protein that is overexpressed in certain types of cancer, making it an attractive target for therapy. Albumin is a protein found in the blood and is often used as a carrier for drugs, allowing for targeted delivery to specific tissues. The therapeutic areas for HPN-328 are neoplasms and respiratory diseases. Click the image below to directly embark on the exploration journey with the HPN-328!

HPN328 is currently undergoing evaluation in a Phase I/II clinical trial to assess its efficacy as a monotherapy in patients with advanced cancers related to DLL3 expression. The study also examines the effectiveness of HPN328 in combination with the monoclonal antibody avelumab in treating patients with SCLC. In October 2023, Harpoon announced positive interim tolerability and response data for HPN328 in certain SCLC and neuroendocrine tumor patients.

About Harpoon Therapeutics

Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that is focused on the development of immunotherapies for the treatment of various diseases, with a particular emphasis on neoplasms and hemic and lymphatic diseases. The company has a diverse pipeline of drugs targeting specific proteins and receptors, and is currently in the preclinical, Phase 1, and Phase 2 stages of development. While Harpoon Therapeutics is still in the early to mid-stages of drug development, their focus on innovative therapies and diverse therapeutic areas suggests that they have the potential to make significant contributions to the field of biomedicine.

Harpoon has developed a range of novel T cell engagers using its proprietary Tri-specific T cell Activating Construct (TriTAC) platform, an engineered protein technology aimed at guiding a patient’s own immune cells to kill tumor cells. In addition, the company has developed the ProTriTAC platform, which applies a prodrug concept to the TriTAC platform to create therapeutic T cell engagers designed to remain inactive until they reach the tumor site.

How to get the latest progress on drug deals?

If you would like to access the latest transaction event information, you can click on the 'Deal' module from the homepage of the Synapse database. Within the Deal module, you can search for global pharmaceutical transaction information using labels such as Drugs, Organization, Target, Drug Type, Deal Date. 

Furthermore, you can obtain the original link to the transaction coverage by clicking on the "Deal Name."

In the analysis view, you can see the most active assignors, assignees, popular targets, and other dimensions of analysis, as well as the distribution of research and development statuses at the time of the transaction, to help you better understand the search results.

The Synapse database also supports the ability to view current transactions from the dimension of "drugs" (by selecting "drugs" from the "Adjust Dimension" dropdown menu above). Targeting transactions involving renowned pharmaceutical companies that are of interest to the industry, such as Merck, Roche, etc., Synapse has identified a group of "leading companies" through drugs that have achieved global sales exceeding 1 billion US dollars in 2022. Transactions involving drugs from these leading companies can be filtered by clicking on the "Leading Company" tag on the left-hand side.

In addition to the drug transaction module, you can also view related transaction history on the drug detail page and the institution detail page.

Click on the image below to embark on a brand new journey of drug discovery!