New Zealand's Innate moves to Australia

New Zealand biopharmaceutical company Innate Immunotherapeutics has officially moved its operations from Auckland to Sydney, as it prepares for a phase IIb trial of lead drug MIS416. The company first announced plans of the move last month.

MIS416 is a therapeutic microparticle designed to induce the human immune system to fight certain cancers and infections and to turn off immune mechanisms which lead to autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis. The company plans to conduct a large-scale, randomised trial of the candidate across multiple Australian states.

The drug candidate is primarily being used for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). During recent New Zealand phase IIa trials, 80% of patients showed at least a 30% improvement in at least one measure of MS-related symptoms.

Innate CEO Simon Wilkinson said the move to Australia was also motivated by interest from local biotech investors.

“Australia is an attractive market for both capital investment as well as clinical need ... We are increasing our profile with key investors in Australia as we consider our funding options in the short to medium term,” he said.

“We are pleased to move our operations over to Australian shores and we believe that Innate will benefit from Australia’s comparative advantage and strength in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector, as well as contribute to the country’s growing bioeconomy.”