HilleVax
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
HilleVax was a Boston clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company (Nasdaq: HLVX) focused on developing and commercializing novel vaccines. Its lead candidate was HIL-214, a virus-like-particle (VLP) norovirus vaccine for infants, developed under license agreements with Takeda Vaccines and Kanghua Biological; a second candidate, HIL-216, was Phase 1-ready. The company raised $235 million, went public in 2022, and had cash of $171.4 million at the end of 2024.
02 / HilleVax FAILURE REASONS
Failure factors
Phase 2b NEST-IN1 of HIL-214 in infants missed primary/secondary endpoints (≈5% efficacy); company discontinued infant development. Lead asset clinical failure precipitated later distressed wind-down path.
/BioPharma Dive: HIL-214 infant Phase 2b failed primary and secondary efficacy endpoints (~5% VE); development in infants discontinued.
Lead norovirus vaccine candidate ineffective in large infant trial; company exploring limited adult options only.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Liquidation
tender offer closed at $1.95/share + CVR; HilleVax delisted; forward-looking text cites 'winding down HilleVax's operations'.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Reported topline data on July 8, 2024: the NEST-IN1 Phase 2b study of HIL-214 in infants failed with 5% efficacy; discontinued infant development.
- 02
Cut about 40% of the workforce (41 employees) in July 2024.
- 03
Reported a full-year 2024 net loss of $147.3 million (about $147,267,000) with cash of $171.4 million at year-end.
- 04
Announced a merger with XOMA Royalty Corporation in August 2025, finalized in September 2025: $1.95 per share plus a non-transferable contingent value right; delisted from Nasdaq.