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About Us
Hornet Therapeutics (“Hornet”) is a biotech company focused on developing treatments to address Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) driven pathologies. The Company was founded by 4BIO Capital and Professor Christoph Hess, based on breakthrough work from Christoph Hess’s lab on translational aspects of lymphocyte function and its metabolic basis. Whilst in incubation, the Company established pioneering single gene-level precision engineering of immune cell metabolism to induce or abolish specific cellular states.
In May 2024, the Company emerged from stealth with the publication of data in the journal, Science, which reported IDO-1 as a host enzyme hijacked by EBV. These data demonstrate that EBV requires IDO-1 to efficiently establish latent infection and causing downstream pathology. Its lead asset, HTX-201, an IDO-1 inhibitor, was in-licensed from Kyowa Kirin, and Hornet is going into clinical trials to assess it as a possible treatment option for the prevention of EBV implicated diseases, including post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD).
Epstein-Barr Virus
#1 cause of organ loss in solid organ transplant recipients
Management of EBV-driven PTLD requires reduction in immunosuppression with risk of allo-graft rejection or loss of organ
High unmet need
One- and two-year survival in solid organ transplant patients with high-risk EBV-PTLD is 36% and 0% respectively [1]
No therapeutic options to treat reactivating or primary EBV infection
No compound ever shown to have efficacy against EBV disease
Significant disease burden
EBV causes a wide range of malignancies and rare diseases which have no specific therapeutic options
High risk of multiple sclerosis following acute EBV infection
Natural history studies highlight 32 times higher risk in patients with high viral load during primary infection [2. 3]
1 - Nijland ML et al. Epstein-Barr Virus-Positive Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disease After Solid Organ Transplantation: Pathogenesis, Clinical Manifestations, Diagnosis, and Management. Transplant Direct. 2015 Dec 15;2(1):e48
2 - Bjornevik K, Cortese M, et.al. Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis. Science. 2022 Jan 21;375(6578):296-301.
3 - Soldan, S.S., Lieberman, P.M. Epstein–Barr virus and multiple sclerosis. Nat Rev Microbiol 21, 51–64 (2023)
Contact Information
Email: info@hornet-tx.com