The European Commission has granted orphan drug designation to IPH4102 for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).
IPH4102 is a cytotoxic anti-KIR3DL2 monoclonal antibody (mAb) that targets CTCL cells.
Orphan status provides Innate Pharma, the company developing IPH4102, with benefits such as tax incentives, market exclusivity for 10 years, possibilities for additional research funding, and additional guidance from the European Medicines Agency during clinical development.
Preclinical results with IPH4102 were presented in a poster at the 2014 T-cell Lymphoma Forum. The research was conducted by investigators from Innate Pharma and INSERM at Hôpital Saint Louis in Paris.
The researchers generated 3 mAbs that bind selectively to KIR3DL2 and evaluated their efficacy against KIR3DL2-expressing tumors and Sézary cell lines.
IPH4102 was among the 3 mAbs and emerged as the most promising drug candidate.
Experiments revealed that anti-KIR3DL2 mAbs can kill KIR3DL2+ cell lines through allo-antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity, even at low tumor antigen density.
The mAbs also improved survival in KIR3DL2+ xenograft models. Survival in mAb-treated mice ranged from 30.5 days to 54.5 days, compared to 19 days in controls.
Finally, the mAbs mediated killing of primary Sézary cells with autologous natural killer cells nearly as efficiently as alemtuzumab.
The investigators said these results suggest anti-KIR3DL2 mAbs are a feasible treatment option for CTCL patients. They plan to prove this hypothesis with a phase 1 trial of IPH4102, which is expected to begin in 2015.
