AstraZeneca Announces Expansion of Oncology Collaboration with Innate Pharma

A multi-term agreement between Innate Pharma and AstraZeneca, along with its global biologics research and development arm MedImmune, was announced on Oct. 23, 2018, which will build upon the companies’ existing collaboration in the field of oncology.

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will receive the full oncology rights to the first-in-class humanized anti-NKG2A antibody-monalizumab. Additionally, the company will gain option rights to IPH5201, which is an antibody that targets CD39, and four pre-clinical molecules from Innate’s pipeline.

Furthermore, as part of the agreement, Innate will license the United States and European Union commercial rights to AstraZeneca’s Lumoxiti (moxetumomab pasudotox), which was recently approved by FDA for the treatment of hairy cell leukemia (HCL).

"Our expanded collaboration with Innate Pharma enables us to further strengthen our leadership in immuno-oncology, and to explore the potential of next-generation immuno-oncology pathways, together with the world-class scientific team of Innate," said Pascal Soriot, chief executive officer of AstraZeneca in a press release. "[This] agreement also secures the long-term commercialization of the recently FDA-approved rare disease medicine, Lumoxiti, through dedicated focus and investment by Innate Pharma."

Mondher Mahjoubi, chief executive officer of Innate Pharma, added, "[This agreement represents] a defining moment for Innate Pharma as we transition to become a fully-integrated oncology-focused biotech. Lumoxiti is a major therapeutic innovation for patients who suffer from relapsed/refractory hairy cell leukemia, and we are proud to be in a position to address a significant unmet medical need. Our commercial team will be focused on rare cancers and generate more value as our own hemato-oncology proprietary pipeline develops."

Sources: AstraZeneca and Innate Pharma