HOOKIPA Pharma Appoints Mark Winderlich as Chief Development Officer to Lead Clinical Research and Development Organization

NEW YORK and VIENNA, Austria, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOK, ‘HOOKIPA’), a company developing a new class of immunotherapeutics based on its proprietary arenavirus platform, today announced the appointment of Mark Winderlich, PhD, as Chief Development Officer, effective April 1, 2024 (‘effective date’). Dr. Winderlich has rich experience leading multiple candidates through the drug development process to product approval in the United States and in Europe.

“We are pleased to bring our search for a capable clinical development leader to such a swift, successful resolution and welcome Mark to the team,” said Joern Aldag, Chief Executive Officer at HOOKIPA. “Mark is a tremendous talent with rich experience across the drug development lifecycle. We have significant opportunity with our HB-200 program to improve on the standard of care for people with advanced HPV16+ head and neck cancer, and we look to progress the program to a randomized study and, ultimately, registration. Our need for an experienced and focused, drug-development leader is clear, and I am certain that Mark is the right leader to execute our strategic initiatives.”

Dr. Winderlich joins HOOKIPA from Evotec SE, where he has served as Executive Vice President, Head of Global Scientific Operations. In his role, he led Evotec’s partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb in oncology. Prior to Evotec, Dr. Winderlich spent more than 12 years in drug development at MorphoSys AG across various roles of increasing responsibility. Key roles included: leading the company’s U.S.-based development activities for Pelabresib, an ongoing Phase III pivotal trial in first-line myelofibrosis; and leading various development activities of multiple drug candidates including MONJUVI (tafasitamab-cxix)—an approved therapy for the treatment of recurrent/refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma in the U.S. and Europe. Dr. Winderlich received his PhD in Biomedicine from Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Muenster and MSc in Medical Biometry from University Heidelberg.

“I am excited to join the HOOKIPA team and help advance novel arenaviral therapies, which have demonstrated best-in-class potential across multiple disease areas,” said Dr. Winderlich. “Cancer and infectious diseases continue to impact people every day, and I am honored to play a role in helping to potentially deliver new treatments for these patients.”