Glenmark shares soar 10% to hit 52-week high on licensing deal with AbbVie

Shares of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd rose 10% to hit a 52-week high on Friday after the drugmaker’s New York-based subsidiary, Ichnos Glenmark Innovation (IGI), entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement with U.S. pharmaceutical giant AbbVie.

Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will receive exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialise 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.

Reacting to the development, shares of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals hit the 10% upper circuit to ₹2,095.65 on the BSE, taking the company’s market cap to over ₹59,000 crore.

“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.”

This strategic collaboration marks a defining milestone in IGI’s scientific journey.

“Our collaboration with AbbVie and Glenmark reflects IGI’s mission to accelerate access to transformative multispecifics for patients worldwide,” said Cyril Konto, M.D., President, Executive Director and CEO of IGI. “AbbVie’s reach in major markets combined with Glenmark’s commercial strength in Emerging Markets, creates complementary access pathways for ISB 2001, a trispecific T-cell engager with promising potential in Multiple Myeloma.”

“ISB 2001 exemplifies the potential of our BEAT protein platform to generate effective multispecificsTM that may overcome resistance and improve outcomes in hard-to-treat cancers,” said Konto. "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 the next generation of BEAT®-enabled assets in oncology.”

“At Glenmark, we are committed to expanding access to innovative cancer treatments across Emerging Markets where unmet need and growth potential intersect,” said Christoph Stoller, President – Europe and Emerging Markets, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.