Sobi pens $580M deal for Innate’s skin cancer drug ahead of phase 3 push

Biotech Sobi pens $580M deal for Innate’s skin cancer drug ahead of phase 3 push By James Waldron Aug 10, 2026 7:13am Innate Pharma Sobi Licensing deals lymphoma Sobi has bought into Innate Pharma’s vision for lacutamab, handing the French biotech $75 million upfront for the rights to market the anti-KIR3DL2 antibody for an aggressive skin cancer. Innate has already secured a green light from the FDA to test lacutamab in the phase 3 Tellomak-3 study for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), ahead of a planned approval push in a subtype of CTCL called Sézary syndrome. The idea is that the study will be split between a confirmatory cohort for Sézary syndrome, which could support a potential accelerated approval for that indication, as well as a registrational cohort in mycosis fungoides, the most common subtype of CTCL.

The company had been working out how it would fund the trial. Now, Sobi has swept in with the necessary upfront cash, as well as $40 million to potentially follow soon in near-term development milestones. In return, Sobi gets exclusive global rights to commercialize lacutamab for Sézary syndrome, assuming the phase 3 trial is a success.

There’s also an additional $465 million in biobucks tied to Sobi’s option to expand its license to cover other indications like mycosis fungoides. Marseille-headquartered Innate has been keeping the faith in lacutamab’s ability to treat both Sézary syndrome and mycosis fungoides, despite the company scrapping plans to develop the drug for another skin cancer called peripheral T cell lymphoma in 2024 after lacutamab underperformed in a phase 1b trial. “We are thrilled to partner with Sobi and enable Tellomak-3 initiation, the pivotal next step in advancing lacutamab toward a potential accelerated approval in Sézary syndrome,” Innate CEO Jonathan Dickinson said in the release.

“Sobi is the ideal partner to help unlock the full potential of lacutamab,” Dickinson added. “Their expertise in rare diseases, proven commercial capabilities and global reach perfectly complement Innate’s expertise in CTCL clinical development.” The upfront cash is expected to pave a cash runway through to the third quarter of 2027, which Innate hopes will be enough time to file an accelerated approval for lacutamab in Sézary syndrome. Innate had 25.4 million euros ($29.3 million) in the bank at the end of March, and said in this morning’s release that it would still “explore other financing opportunities” to fund additional priorities like its Nectin-4 exatecan antibody-drug conjugate IPH4502 and its AstraZeneca-partnered anti-NKG2A antibody monalizumab.

Innate combined the announcement of the deal with news that the company’s head of clinical pharmacology Markus Jensen will be stepping up as chief medical officer. Jensen, a Bayer veteran, will be replacing Sonia Quaratino. Sobi is facing its own C-suite shakeup, with CEO Guido Oelkers, Ph.D., revealing last week that he will be taking on the top job at mRNA pioneer BioNTech.

The Swedish biopharma’s commercial portfolio includes the thrombocytopenia medicine Doptelet, the Sanofi-partnered bleeding disorder drug Altuviiio and the ultra-rare hyperinflammation drug Gamifant. When it comes to cancer, Sobi markets the oral kinase inhibitor Vonjo for myelofibrosis and is also evaluating the therapy’s potential for chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. Oelkers branded today’s deal with Innate “an important step in strengthening our portfolio,” which “reflects our strategy of partnering with leading innovators to bring differentiated therapies to patients with rare diseases.” Innate Pharma Sobi Licensing deals lymphoma Oncology Deals Biotech