Ichnos Glenmark Innovation (IGI) and AbbVie Announce Exclusive Global Licensing Agreement for ISB 2001, a First-in-Class CD38×BCMA×CD3 Trispecific Antibody
- ISB 2001 is currently in Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (R/R MM)
NEW YORK and NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., July 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IGI Therapeutics SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York-based Ichnos Glenmark Innovation, Inc. (IGI), and AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) today announced an exclusive licensing agreement for IGI's lead investigational asset, ISB 2001, developed using IGI's proprietary BEAT® protein platform, for oncology and autoimmune diseases.
"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," said Roopal Thakkar, M.D., Executive Vice-President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer, AbbVie. "This partnership with IGI reflects our unwavering commitment to advancing novel therapies for patients with multiple myeloma, a disease where significant unmet need remains despite recent progress."
"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," said Cyril Konto, M.D., President and CEO of IGI. "This agreement marks a defining milestone in IGI's scientific journey and reflects our team's deep commitment to delivering meaningful therapies for patients, Our partnership with AbbVie accelerates ISB 2001's path to patients and sharpens our focus on advancing th e next generation of BEAT®-enabled assets in oncology."
Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will receive exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize ISB 2001 across North America, Europe, Japan, and Greater China. Subject to regulatory clearance, IGI will receive an upfront payment of $700 million and is eligible to receive up to $1.225 billion in development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, along with tiered, double-digit royalties on net sales.
About ISB 2001
ISB 2001 is a first-in-class trispecific T-cell engager that targets BCMA and CD38 on myeloma cells and CD3 on T cells currently in Phase 1 for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Developed using IGI's proprietary BEAT® protein platform, ISB 2001 was engineered with two distinct binders against myeloma-associated antigens to enhance avidity, even at low target expression levels, while aiming to improve safety over first-generation bispecific antibodies. Recently presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting as a Rapid Oral Presentation (Abstract #7514), data from 35 patients demonstrated a sustained overall response rate (ORR) of 79% and a high complete/stringent complete response (CR/sCR) rate of 30% at active doses ≥ 50 µg/kg in a heavily pretreated population of relapsed/refractory myeloma patients, with a favorable safety profile.
U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted ISB 2001 Orphan Drug Designation in July 2023 and Fast Track Designation for the treatment of relapsed/refractory myeloma patients in May 2025.
About the BEAT® Multispecific™ Platform
IGI's proprietary BEAT® platform goes beyond traditional bispecific antibody approaches, addressing key engineering bottlenecks that have historically limited large-scale bispecific production. By leveraging a proprietary common light chain library and TCR interface-based heavy chain pairing, BEAT® enables the development of next-generation immune cell engagers with strong therapeutic potential in oncology. Unlike many engineered formats, BEAT® mirrors the architecture of natural antibodies utilizing both light and heavy chains to enhance stability and function. Key attributes of the BEAT® platform include its multispecific versatility, enabling the design of antibodies that engage diverse immune cell types such as T cells, myeloid cells, and NK cells against multiple antigens. The platform also features optimized engineering through high-fidelity heavy chain pairing with a common light chain, allowing for precise Fc modulation and access to a broad structural design space. Additionally, BEAT® supports robust manufacturability, producing correctly assembled multispecific antibodies with favorable stability, extended half-lives, low immunogenicity and high titer yields through standardized process development and manufacturing operations.
About IGI
IGI is a global, fully integrated clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative biologics in oncology. Headquartered in New York, NY, IGI is advancing a robust pipeline of novel, first-in-class multispecifics™ aimed at addressing complex diseases and treating patients holistically. Powered by its proprietary BEAT® technology platform, IGI is committed to delivering breakthrough, curative therapies to improve and extend the lives of patients battling hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For more information, visit www.IGInnovate.com.
About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.
About AbbVie in Oncology
AbbVie is committed to elevating standards of care and bringing transformative therapies to patients worldwide living with difficult-to-treat cancers. We are advancing a dynamic pipeline of investigational therapies across a range of cancer types in both blood cancers and solid tumors. We are focusing on creating targeted medicines that either impede the reproduction of cancer cells or enable their elimination. We achieve this through various, targeted treatment modalities and biology interventions, including small molecule therapeutics, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), immuno-oncology-based therapeutics, multispecific antibody and novel CAR-T platforms. Our dedicated and experienced team joins forces with innovative partners to accelerate the delivery of potential breakthrough medicines.
Today, our expansive oncology portfolio comprises approved and investigational treatments for a wide range of blood cancers and solid tumors. We are evaluating more than 35 investigational medicines in multiple clinical trials across some of the world's most widespread and debilitating cancers. As we work to have a remarkable impact on people's lives, we are committed to exploring solutions to help patients obtain access to our cancer medicines. For more information, please visit http://www.abbvie.com/oncology.
AbbVie Forward Looking Statement
Some statements in this news release are, or may be considered, forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions and uses of future or conditional verbs, generally identify forward-looking statements. AbbVie cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, challenges to intellectual property, competition from other products, difficulties inherent in the research and development process, adverse litigation or government action, changes to laws and regulations applicable to our industry, the impact of global macroeconomic factors, such as economic downturns or uncertainty, international conflict, trade disputes and tariffs, and other uncertainties and risks associated with global business operations. Additional information about the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of AbbVie's 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in other documents that AbbVie subsequently files with the Securities and Exchange Commission that update, supplement or supersede such information. AbbVie undertakes no obligation, and specifically declines, to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.
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