- MICA validated as a novel target for antibody drug development in solid tumors
- IPH43 program now aims at selection and optimization of the best development candidate
MARSEILLE, France, Nov. 15, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innate Pharma SA (the "Company" - Euronext Paris: FR0010331421 - IPH), the innate immunity company developing first-in-class drug candidates for cancer and inflammatory diseases, announces the initiation of a new program to develop an anti-MICA therapeutic antibody in oncology. The program, named IPH43, is the newest to emerge from Innate Pharma's discovery platform.
MICA is a highly polymorphic ligand of the NK cell activating receptor NKG2D. MICA is specifically expressed on several highly prevalent solid tumors including breast, colorectal and lung. Innate Pharma has generated a panel of high affinity antibodies recognizing all forms of MICA which is now being tested and optimized to select the best development candidate.
Nicolai Wagtmann, CSO of Innate Pharma, said: "MICA's very clean expression profile on tumor cells and not healthy cells makes it an exciting target for cancer. Like with lirilumab, we successfully generated antibodies overcoming target polymorphism, which is a major challenge and a pre-requisite for development. We now look forward to applying our state-of-the-art immunopharmacology and antibody-engineering platforms to further advance IPH43 towards clinical development."
Hervé Brailly, CEO of Innate Pharma, added: "Together with the recent start of IPH4102 development, the launch of the IPH43 program illustrates Innate Pharma's creativity and ability to spot novel targets for development of first-in-class antibody candidates in immuno-oncology. Our discovery effort is a key element for value creation. We generated three first-in-class candidates brought to clinic with pharma partners and we are pleased to now progress a second wave of these projects towards the clinic."
A poster on this program was presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting, November 7-10, 2013, National Harbor, MD, USA: "Targeting MICA with therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of cancer", Saturday, November 9 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm and 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm, Poster 42. The poster is available on Innate Pharma's website.
About Innate Pharma:
Innate Pharma S.A. is a biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class immunotherapy drug candidates for cancer and inflammatory diseases.
The Company specializes in the development of novel monoclonal antibodies targeting receptors and pathways controlling the activation of innate immunity cells. Its innovative approaches have led to licensing agreements with Novo Nordisk A/S and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Incorporated in 1999 and listed on NYSE-Euronext in Paris in 2006, Innate Pharma is based in Marseilles, France, and had 84 employees as at September 30, 2013.
Learn more about Innate Pharma at www.innate-pharma.com.
Practical Information about Innate Pharma shares:
| ISIN code | FR0010331421 |
| Ticker code | IPH |
Disclaimer:
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Although the company believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties which could cause the company's actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors ("Facteurs de Risque") section of the Document de Reference prospectus filed with the AMF, which is available on the AMF website (http://www.amf-france.org) or on Innate Pharma's website.
This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe to shares in Innate Pharma in any country.
For additional information, please contact:
| Innate Pharma | ATCG Press |
| Laure-Hélène Mercier | Marielle Bricman |
| Director, Investor Relations | |
| Phone: +33 (0)4 30 30 30 87 | Mob.: +33 (0)6 26 94 18 53 |
| investors@innate-pharma.com | mb@atcg-partners.com |
Press Release: http://hugin.info/155662/R/1743331/586393.pdf