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Innate Pharma to Present Additional Efficacy Data for Monalizumab in Combination With Cetuximab in Head and Neck Cancer at the ESMO Immuno-Oncology Virtual CongressMARSEILLE, France, Dec. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innate Pharma SA (Euronext Paris: IPH – ISIN: FR0010331421; Nasdaq: IPHA) (“Innate” or the “Company”) today announced that it will present additional data on its lead partnered asset, monalizumab, at the ESMO Immuno-oncology Virtual Congress being held from Dec. 9-12, 2020. Monalizumab is a potentially first-in-class immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting NKG2A receptors expressed on tumor infiltrating cytotoxic CD8+ T cells and NK cells. The presentation will include updated results from a Phase 2 study investigating the combination of monalizumab and cetuximab in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer (R/M SCCHN) who have been previously treated with a platinum-based chemotherapy and PD-(L)1 inhibitor. The e-poster presentation (#81P, abstract #235) entitled, “Monalizumab in combination with cetuximab post platinum and anti-PD-(L)1 in patients with recurrent/metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: Updated results from a phase 2 trial” will be available on Dec. 9th. As recently announced, AstraZeneca dosed the first patient in its Phase 3 clinical trial, INTERLINK-1, evaluating monalizumab in combination with cetuximab in R/M SCCHN patients who have been previously treated with a platinum-based chemotherapy and PD-(L)1 inhibitors. About INTERLINK-1: The primary endpoint is overall survival (OS) with secondary endpoints including progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate (ORR), duration of response (DoR), safety and quality of life. Additional details on the INTERLINK-1 clinical trial can be found here. About the Innate-AstraZeneca monalizumab agreement: The financial terms of the agreement include potential cash payments up to $1.275 billion to Innate Pharma. Including the $50 million payment triggered by dosing the first patient in the Phase 3 INTERLINK-1 clinical trial, Innate Pharma has received $400 million to date. AstraZeneca will book all sales revenue and will pay Innate low double-digit to mid-teen percentage royalties on net sales worldwide except in Europe where Innate Pharma will receive 50% share of the profits and losses in the territory. Innate will co-fund 30% of the costs of the Phase 3 development program of onalizumab with a pre-agreed limitation of Innate’s financial commitment. About Monalizumab: NKG2A is an inhibitory checkpoint receptor for HLA-E. By expressing HLA-E, cancer cells can protect themselves from killing by NKG2A+ immune cells. HLA-E is frequently overexpressed in the cancer cells of many solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Monalizumab may re-establish a broad anti-tumor response mediated by NK and T cells, and may enhance the cytotoxic potential of other therapeutic antibodies (André et al, Cell 2018). AstraZeneca obtained full oncology rights to monalizumab in October 2018 through a co-development and commercialization agreement initiated in 2015. The ongoing development for monalizumab is focused on investigating monalizumab in various combination strategies in different malignancies. About Cetuximab: The activity of cetuximab as a single agent in recurrent and/or metastatic SCCHN is limited, with a 12.6% overall response rate, a median time to progression of 2.3 months and a median overall survival of 5.8 months (Vermorken et al, JCO 2007). About Innate Pharma: Innate Pharma’s commercial-stage product, Lumoxiti, in-licensed from AstraZeneca in the US, EU and Switzerland, was approved by the FDA in September 2018. Lumoxiti is a first-in class specialty oncology product for hairy cell leukemia. Innate Pharma’s broad pipeline of antibodies includes several potentially first-in-class clinical and preclinical candidates in cancers with high unmet medical need. Innate has been a pioneer in the understanding of natural killer cell biology and has expanded its expertise in the tumor microenvironment and tumor-antigens, as well as antibody engineering. This innovative approach has resulted in a diversified proprietary portfolio and major alliances with leaders in the biopharmaceutical industry including Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi, and a multi-products collaboration with AstraZeneca. Based in Marseille, France, Innate Pharma is listed on Euronext Paris and Nasdaq in the US. Information about Innate Pharma shares:
Disclaimer on forward-looking information and risk factors: 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:
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