IPH6501

IPH6501 is a first-in-class tetra-specific antibody-based natural killer (NK) cell engager developed by Innate Pharma for the treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL), particularly in relapsed or refractory cases. It utilizes Innate’s proprietary ANKET multispecific antibody format to simultaneously engage four targets via a single molecule: two activating receptors on NK cells (NKp46 and CD16a), the tumor antigen CD20 on malignant B cells, and the interleukin-2 receptor β-chain (CD122) through an engineered IL-2 variant that avoids binding to IL-2Rα, reducing toxicity and Treg activation. This design promotes selective activation, proliferation, and cytotoxicity of NK cells against CD20-expressing tumor cells. Preclinical studies have shown that IPH6501 enhances NK cell function, induces potent anti-tumor activity even at low levels of CD20 expression, and may offer advantages over existing therapies targeting only CD16 or using conventional monoclonal antibodies. The drug is currently being evaluated in a global Phase 1/2 clinical trial for patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma[1][3][5][6][7][8].