Kinnate sells pan-RAF inhibitor assets to Pierre Fabre

Kinnate Biopharma (Nasdaq: KNTE) saw its shares gain 6% to $2.21 by mid-morning on news of an assets sale.

Kinnate, which earlier this month accepted a takeover bid worth around $9.5 million from biotech royalty aggregator XOMA Corp (Nasdaq: XOMA), has agreed to sell its investigational pan-RAF inhibitor, exarafenib, and other pan-RAF program assets pursuant to the APA entered into with privately-held French drugmaker Pierre Fabre. The sale of global rights is in furtherance of the company’s previously announced exploration of strategic alternatives, said Kinnate.

“We are delighted to partner with Pierre Fabre Laboratories, a company that brings significant expertise in the global development and commercialization of targeted therapies in RAF and RAS driven solid tumors,” said Nima Farzan, chief executive of Kinnate, adding: “The sale of exarafenib and our pan-RAF program assets to Pierre Fabre will expand the reach of these programs globally, allowing the promise of targeted therapies for patients with NRAS driven melanoma and BRAF driven solid tumors to further develop.”