Innate Pharma (NASDAQ:IPHA) said it has raised €30 million in equity financing, providing funding to advance its strategic priorities, including the development of its lacutamab and IPH4502 programs and its preclinical antibody-drug conjugate, or ADC, portfolio.
Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Dickinson said the financing, combined with a €75 million upfront payment expected upon closing of the company’s partnership with Sobi, is projected to extend Innate Pharma’s cash runway through the first quarter of 2028. The Sobi payment remains subject to closing conditions, including antitrust clearance.
Sobi Partnership Supports Lacutamab Development
The FDA has already cleared the TELLOMAK-3 trial, according to Dickinson. He said initiation of the study would support progress toward a biologics license application for Sézary syndrome under lacutamab’s FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation once recruitment is underway.
Under the Sobi agreement, Innate is set to receive the €75 million upfront payment at closing, along with up to €40 million in near-term milestones tied to potential accelerated approval in Sézary syndrome. Dickinson also cited up to €465 million in additional opt-in regulatory and commercial milestones, plus double-digit tiered royalties on future lacutamab sales. Sobi would assume full global commercialization following accelerated approval.
IPH4502 Data Planned Later This Year
Innate completed enrollment in the dose-escalation portion of its Phase I trial of IPH4502 on July 21, enrolling 76 patients. IPH4502 is a second-generation ADC targeting Nectin-4.
The company has reported preliminary clinical activity in patients with urothelial cancer previously treated with PADCEV, as well as in non-small cell lung cancer and head and neck cancer. Dickinson said the company has also observed a favorable safety profile to date, including limited hematological toxicity, which he said supports the hypothesis that its proprietary linker limits release of the payload into circulation.
During the question-and-answer session, Dickinson said Innate expects to have approximately 10 to 15 patients at go-forward pharmacological doses in each of the three highlighted indications: post-PADCEV urothelial cancer, head and neck cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer. The company expects to present dose-escalation data at a medical conference later this year, after allowing time for follow-up and initial scans of recently enrolled patients.
Dickinson said the completed data set will determine which tumor types Innate pursues in the next stage of IPH4502 development. He identified the three highlighted indications as likely candidates, while noting that the decision must be supported by the full data.
He also said the company believes it can move “seamlessly” into IPH4502’s next development steps following the financing rather than needing to seek capital after releasing the data. Innate expects to begin communicating details of its preclinical ADC pipeline sometime in 2027.
ADC Portfolio and Monalizumab Remain Priorities
Beyond IPH4502, Innate plans to advance preclinical ADC candidates using three approaches: dual-targeted bispecific ADCs intended to address tumor-antigen heterogeneity; bispecific ADCs designed to enhance internalization in tumors with low antigen expression; and dual-payload ADCs using complementary mechanisms to potentially address treatment resistance.
Dickinson said the company’s linker technology has demonstrated stability in patients in the Phase I study and could support continued development of its ADC pipeline.
Innate also continues to await the primary-endpoint data from PACIFIC-9, a study of its NKG2A-targeted antibody monalizumab with AstraZeneca in Stage III unresectable non-small cell lung cancer. The trial’s primary completion date is expected at the end of September, with primary-endpoint data anticipated by year-end.
If PACIFIC-9 is positive, Dickinson said monalizumab could represent a future source of value for Innate, citing up to $825 million in potential milestones, a 50% European profit share, and double-digit royalties on sales outside Europe, including in the U.S.
Responding to a question about possible fibrosis-related uses for monalizumab, Dickinson said the company was encouraged by recently published research but is currently focused on the PACIFIC-9 readout. He noted that fibrosis would be a new indication outside AstraZeneca’s collaboration license for monalizumab in oncology and other indications.
About Innate Pharma (NASDAQ:IPHA)
Innate Pharma SA is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the discovery and development of antibody-based therapies that harness the body’s innate immune system to combat cancer. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Marseille, France, the company pioneers novel monoclonal antibodies designed to activate natural killer cells and macrophages, offering a complementary approach to existing immuno-oncology treatments.
The company’s lead program, monalizumab, targets the NKG2A immune checkpoint receptor and is being developed in collaboration with AstraZeneca.
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