Glenmark unit clinches $700mn licensing deal for its cancer drug

Mint

10-07-2025

A unit of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd is licensing its under-development blood cancer drug to Chicago-based AbbVie Inc. for $700 million, marking the biggest outlicensing deal for any Indian drugmaker. AbbVie will also pay as much as $1.23 billion as various milestones are completed.
Ichnos Glenmark Innovation (IGI), a US-based unit of Glenmark, is conducting phase-1 clinical trials for ISB 2001, a so-called investigational asset to treat multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. As part of the deal, AbbVie will get to make and sell it in North America, Europe, Japan, and Greater China, while Glenmark retains rights for India and emerging markets.
'This asset is world-class; you don't come across a world-class asset too often, which can actually change the landscape for patients, and the value of the deal is purely because of the quality of the data," Glenn Saldanha, MD and CEO of Glenmark told reporters in Mumbai.
The market for multiple myeloma treatment is projected to grow to about $33 billion by 2030, according to estimates by Bloomberg Intelligence.
ISB 2001 targets cases where many patients don't respond to current treatments, or their cancer returns. It's a "tri-specific" antibody that targets three different markers on cancer cells at once; this helps it fight cancer even when other therapies have failed, including those that use a patient's own T-cells.
Both the FDA Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations have been given to ISB 2001, highlighting its potential. Early trial results are promising.
'This is a landmark for India…it basically puts India on the world map in my view," Saldanha said. 'This is among the top three to five deals that we know of in the last two years that have been cut out globally, for bispecific antibodies," Saldanha said.
In 2025, Pfizer licensed 3SBio's bispecific asset for $1.25 billion upfront, with potential up to $6 billion, and Bristol Myers Squibb licensed BioNTech's asset for $1.5 billion upfront, with a total potential of $11.1 billion.
Following the licensing agreement, AbbVie will take over further development for phase-2 and phase-3 trials before they can file for regulatory approval. The process would typically take four to five years.
Glenmark shares closed 5.54% higher on Thursday. The deal was announced after the close of the day's trading.
'It has been a huge journey for me personally and for Glenmark," said Saldanha. The company established its first R&D centre for novel biologics research in Switzerland in 2006, and did a number of licensing deals in the early years. It spun off its R&D entity in 2019 under a new company, Ichnos Sciences, which built on its proprietary BEAT bispecific platform. The two announced the creation of Ichnos Glenmark Innovation (IGI) in 2024.
'Multispecifics including trispecific antibodies represent a new frontier in immuno-oncology with the potential to deliver deeper, more durable responses by engaging multiple targets simultaneously," Roopal Thakkar, MD, executive vice-president, research and development and chief scientific officer, AbbVie, said in a statement.
Currently, there are no trispecific antibodies commercialized, said Saldanha, but several pharma companies are trying to develop them.
'We are among the pioneers, the early guys to develop a trispecific antibody, and validate it in humans to show that it has a great safety profile, as well as efficacy," said Saldanha.
IGI will continue developing multi-specific antibodies. It has another asset - ISB 2301 - which is in the discovery stages for application in solid tumors, as well as other assets in development.
'ISB 2001 exemplifies the potential of our BEAT protein platform to generate effective multispecifics that may overcome resistance and improve outcomes in hard-to-treat cancers," Cyril Konto, president and CEO of IGI, said in a statement.
'We will continue to develop assets, take them to a certain level, and continue development on our own or with a partner at a later stage," said Saldanha.
The journey is to move up the value chain, as Glenmark will continue to build on high-value assets, said Saldanha. It will remain focused on its core segments of dermatology, respiratory and oncology in the global markets.
Saldanha said the company has no plans at the moment for the upfront payment as well as milestone payments that it will receive.
'IGI spends about $70 million a year in terms of the research that they are doing; so, they are funded at least for the next three to four years out of this upfront payment. Additionally, some of the amount will get dividend back to Glenmark," said Saldanha.