Innate Pharma Advances Novel Anket Therapy for B-cell Lymphomas, Boosts Stock with Promising Preclinical Data

Innate Pharma has revealed promising preclinical data for its novel Anket, IPH6501, targeting CD20 for relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The therapy showed substantial activity, enhancing natural killer cell proliferation and effectively killing tumor cells. Combination with R-CHOP demonstrated improved antitumor effects, suggesting potential synergy. Analysts forecast an average target price of $6.94, implying a 251.24% upside from the current price. The company reported revenue of €20.1 million in 2024, primarily from collaboration licensing agreements and research tax credits.

Title: Innate Pharma's IPH6501 Shows Promising Preclinical Results for B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Innate Pharma has presented encouraging preclinical data for its novel Anket, IPH6501, at the 2025 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress in Milan, Italy. The therapy, which targets CD20, demonstrated substantial antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo, enhancing natural killer (NK) cell proliferation and effectively killing tumor cells. Combining IPH6501 with the standard of care, R-CHOP, showed improved antitumor effects, suggesting potential synergy for treating relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL).

IPH6501, part of Innate Pharma's proprietary ANKET® platform, is a tetraspecific NK cell engager that co-engages activating receptors on NK cells (NKp46 and CD16), IL-2R (but not the alpha subunit) through a variant of human IL-2, and a tumor antigen (CD20) via a single molecule. This unique design provides targeted proliferation and activation signals to NK cells, promoting their cytotoxic activity against CD20-expressing malignant cells. Preclinical studies have shown IPH6501 to be more effective than approved benchmark antibodies in various tumor models [1].

The data presented at the EHA Congress included in vitro and in vivo models. In vitro, IPH6501 demonstrated potent NK cell proliferation and tumor cell killing activity in DLBCL and FL patient samples. In vivo, IPH6501 showed strong activity in rituximab-resistant models, even in the presence of rituximab, highlighting its potential for combination therapies. When combined with R-CHOP, IPH6501 showed enhanced antitumor efficacy, leading to tumor eradication that was maintained after treatment discontinuation.

Dr. Sonia Quaratino, Chief Medical Officer of Innate Pharma, commented on the significance of these findings: "Patients with R/R DLBCL and FL continue to face significant unmet medical needs. The encouraging activity observed in preclinical models with IPH6501, including in rituximab-resistant settings, suggests its potential to offer new treatment options for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The enhanced antitumor activity in combination with R-CHOP could support further investigation in untreated patients. These findings support further clinical development aimed at improving outcomes in this challenging patient population."

Innate Pharma's stock price has been positively impacted by these developments, with analysts forecasting an average target price of $6.94, implying a 251.24% upside from the current price. The company reported revenue of €20.1 million in 2024, primarily from collaboration licensing agreements and research tax credits.

References:
[1] https://www.innate-pharma.com/media/all-press-releases/innate-pharma-highlights-preclinical-antitumor-activity-iph6501-diffuse-large-b-cell-lymphoma-and-follicular-lymphoma-2025-european-hematology-association-eha-congress