The target of IPH 4201 is a new antigen expressed on pancreatic cancer cells. IPH 4201 is Innate Pharma’s third proprietary monoclonal antibody

Marseilles, France | December 1, 2008 | Innate Pharma (Euronext Paris : FR0010331421 – IPH), a biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class drugs targeting the innate immune system, announces today the entry in pre-clinical validation of a new drug candidate: IPH 4201.

IPH 4201 is a monoclonal antibody targeting a specific antigen on pancreatic cancer cells. As part of the pre-clinical validation work, Innate Pharma will confirm the activity of the antibody in pre-clinical models and develop the process for the production of the selected antibody at an industrial scale, at which point IPH 4201 will enter into regulatory pre-clinical development (IND-enabling studies).

Innate Pharma is the exclusive owner of the worldwide rights to the antibody.

“There is a significant unmet medical need in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. The antigen targeted by IPH 4201 appears to be specific and highly expressed on pancreatic cancer cells, which differentiates it from most of the other pancreatic antigens discovered so far and makes it a promising target to exploit”, said François Romagné, CSO of Innate Pharma.

“With IPH 2101 and IPH 4101, respectively in clinical and pre-clinical development in oncology, IPH 4201 is our third proprietary antibody. Coming from academic research, this early stage project builds upon Innate Pharma’s core expertise while at the same time reinforcing therapeutic antibodies as an important area of emphasis for the Company”, said Hervé Brailly, CEO of Innate Pharma.

About IPH 4201:

In-licensed from the “Université de la Méditerranée”, Marseilles, France, and “INSERM”, Paris France, IPH 4201 is a monoclonal antibody targeting a surface antigen specifically expressed by cancerous pancreatic cells: the feto-acinar pancreatic protein (FAPP). Dominique Lombardo, Eric Mas and collaborators from “Centre de Recherche en Oncologie biologique et Oncopharmacologie” (CRO2, INSERM unit UMR 911, Director D. Lombardo Marseilles, France) have shown that this antigen, a glyco-isoform of the pancreatic enzyme bile salt-dependent lipase (BSDL), is expressed at a high level at the surface of cancer cells from all patient samples tested to date (n=20), and that this expression in current studies appears to be highly specific to pancreatic cancer tissues. IPH 4201, a monoclonal antibody developed by Innate Pharma, targets FAPP with a high degree of specificity. The antibody induces apoptosis of the targeted cells and mediates Antibody Dependant Cell Cytotoxicity (ADCC). IPH 4201 is in pre-clinical validation at Innate Pharma (the M0 milestone). Next steps will include the study of its activity in in vivo models and the development of the process of IPH 4201 production at an industrial scale (the M1 milestone).

The work of Dominique Lombardo and Eric Mas’ team at the origin of the project was partly described in 2004 in Neoplasia (Panicot-Dubois et al., Neoplasia 2004, 6:713-724).

About pancreatic cancer:

There were around 90,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer in the 7 major pharmaceutical markets worldwide in 2007 (Source: Datamonitor). Pancreatic cancer is the forth leading cause of death among cancer patients with a one-year and a five-year survival rate of respectively around 20% and 5%. The absence of early symptoms explains why in 90% of cases diagnosis is late, with metastasis in half of cases. Surgery is therefore appropriate in less than 25% of cases. Radio- and chemotherapies are used, but the survival rate remains very low.

About Innate Pharma

Founded in 1999 and funded by reference venture capitalists up to its IPO on Euronext in Paris in 2006, Innate Pharma S.A. (Euronext Paris: FR0010331421 – IPH) is a biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class* drugs targeting innate immunity.

The pioneering work of Innate Pharma’s scientific founders and research groups has led to the development of three product platforms (gamma delta T cells, NK cells and TLR), each directly or indirectly validated in clinical oncology settings.

Besides oncology, Innate Pharma’s drug candidates have development potential in the treatment of infectious disease and chronic inflammation. Two of the Company’s molecules are undergoing clinical development, the most advanced being today in Phase II trials in cancer and infections.

With its strong scientific position in innate immunity pharmacology, its robust intellectual property portfolio and its R&D expertise, Innate Pharma intends to become a leading player in the rapidly growing immunotherapeutics market.

Based in Marseilles, France, Innate Pharma had 88 employees as of September 30, 2008.

SOURCE: Innate Pharma