Innate Pharma and OREGA Biotech entered into an licensing agreement by which OREGA Biotech grants Innate Pharma full worldwide rights to its program of first-in-class anti-CD39 checkpoint inhibitors. This license agreement arose from a fruitful research collaboration between the two companies initiated in 2014. It plays a major role in promoting immunosuppression through the pathway degrading adenosine triphosphate (ATP) into adenosine.

Within the tumor microenvironment, ATP promotes immune cell-mediated killing of cancer cells. In contrast, adenosine accumulation causes immune suppression and dysregulation of immune cell infiltrates resulting in tumor spreading. Blockade of CD39 may therefore stimulate anti-tumor immunity across a wide range of tumors by preventing the production of adenosine and by promoting the accumulation of ATP in the tumor microenvironment.

OREGA Biotech's program to develop a CD39-blocking antibody thus aims at restoring a pro-inflammatory micro-environment. It is currently in preclinical development.