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.Also Read | HDFC Mutual Fund raises stake in Glenmark Pharmaceuticals to 5.07%. Details here 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.Also Read | Glenmark to launch cancer drug Zanubrutinib in India 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 bispecif in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- You are an expert news writer and SEO specialist. 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A subsidiary of Glenmark has secured a $700 million licensing agreement for its cancer treatment.
