Glenmark Announced Promising Results For Blood Cancer Drug

• ISB 2001 showed 79% ORR in Phase 1 trials for RRMM.
• Drug targets three critical proteins: CD3, BCMA, and CD38.
• Glenmark is negotiating global licensing deals for the molecule.

Ichnos Glenmark Innovation (IGI), a clinical-stage biotech collaboration between New York-based Ichnos Sciences and India’s Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, has presented encouraging Phase 1 data for its new oncology drug, ISB 2001, which was developed for use in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM); a rare and aggressive blood and bone marrow malignancy.

The Phase 1 studies revealed an overall response rate (ORR) of 79% in patients given the recommended dose, including patients who had failed advanced therapies such as CAR-T cell and bi-specific antibodies.

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Dr Shyam Rathi, consultant, clinical hematology, PD Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre in Mumbai, said: “It can definitely be a game changer in treatment of multiple myeloma which keeps relapsing thus exhausting treatment options quickly. This new drug looks very attractive because it targets two different sites on the cancer cell and it engages the body’s own T-cells.”

ISB 2001 is a first-in-class T-cell engager that targets three sites, CD3 on T-lymphocytes, BCMA (B cell maturation antigen) on myeloma cells, and CD38 (the same target as Darzalex [daratumumab] developed by Johnson & Johnson). This unique opportunity to target three physiological sites for immune activation and tumour cell destruction offers great potential to patients who have already been exhausted from available treatments.