In a deal valued at $1.275 billion all-in, AstraZeneca (AZN) will partner with Innate Pharma (IPH.PA) for the development of IPH2201, Innate’s anti-NKG2A antibody.
For $250 million up front and another $1.025 billion in potential milestones, AstraZeneca has exclusive rights to 2201. Clearly, the impetus is for combinations (which Mr. Fink has maintained all along): the current development plan includes Phase II combination trials with AstraZeneca’s MEDI4736 (an anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor) in solid tumors; multiple Phase II trials planned by Innate to study IPH2201 as monotherapy and in combination with approved therapies; and the development of associated biomarkers.
This is incremental validation of the NKG2A approach, noteworthy because IPH2201 has no proof of concept in humans to date. As of mid-February, the first patient had been treated in the first Phase II trial of IPH2201, as a single agent in pre-operative squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. Innate intends to start other Phase II trials of IPH2201 this year in three settings: Head and Neck Cancer, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Ovarian Cancer.
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