Heat Biologics Inc. is a US

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

company focused on the field of

immunotherapy Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...

. Heat Biologics was founded by Jeff Wolf and Eckhard Podack, in conjunction with the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

and Seed-One Ventures. The company is based in

Morrisville, North Carolina Morrisville is a town located primarily in Wake County, North Carolina, United States (a small portion extends into neighboring Durham County). The population was 18,576 at the 2010 census. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the town's population t ...

History

In 2008, Heat Biologics was founded by Jeff Wolf and Eckhard Podack, in conjunction with the

and Seed-One Ventures. The company relocated to North Carolina in 2011. NCBiotech provided $225,000 of initial funding the same year. On July 24, 2013, Heat Biologics stock went public on NASDAQ under ticker symbol HTBX. In 2017, Heat Biologics acquired an 80% controlling interest in Pelican Therapeutics. Morrisville, North Carolina became the company's headquarters in 2019. In 2020, the

Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM) is the University of Miami's graduate medical school in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1952, it is the oldest medical school in the state of Florida. Campus The University of Miami's Leonard M. Miller Sch ...

collaborated with Heat Biologics to develop a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

vaccine using gp-96 to express antigens associated with COVID-19. In 2021, Heat Biologics began Phase 2 clinical trials for a new non-small cell lung cancer treatment (HS-110). It also initiated a Phase 1 trial for HS-130, its off-the-shelf cell line engineered to stimulate T-cells to assist in immune response to disease.

Pipeline products

HS-110

HS-110, also called viagenpumatucel-L, is in Phase II in NSCLC, in combination with cyclophosphamide. Another Phase I study is combining HS 110 with

nivolumab Nivolumab, sold under the brand name Opdivo, is a medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes melanoma, lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, renal cell carcinoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, head and neck cancer, urotheli ...

and other checkpoint inhibitors.

HS-130

HS-130 is in Phase I clinical trial for patients with solid tumors. HS-130 is an allogeneic (“off-the-shelf”) cell line engineered to express OX40 ligand fusion protein (OX40L-Fc). OX40 ligand is a key co-stimulator of T cells that augments antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses.

COVID-19 Vaccine

The company initiated a COVID-19 vaccine collaboration with the University of Miami in March 2020 using their gp96 platform which activates the human immune system to combat infectious diseases with the potential of generating long-term immune responses.

PTX-35

PTX-35 is in Phase I clinical trial for patients with solid tumors. PTX-35 is a potential first-in-class T cell co-stimulator targeting TNFRSF25 (Death Receptor 3). Favorable safety profile was demonstrated in mice and non-human primates. PTX-35's development plan focuses on cancer immunotherapy.

References

{{Authority control Biotechnology companies of the United States Companies listed on the Nasdaq