Glenmark arm inks licensing pact with Astria Therapeutics

Glenmark Pharma news: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Thursday said its wholly-owned arm Ichnos Sciences has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Astria Therapeutics for its OX40 antagonist monoclonal antibody portfolio for use in inflammatory and immune diseases, and will receive USD 320 million (over Rs 2,660 crore). With the execution of this agreement, Ichnos has successfully licensed its two assets for inflammatory and immunological diseases, a key milestone in the company's prioritisation of its pipeline of oncology drug candidates, Ichnos Sciences said in a statement filed on BSE by Glenmark.

Under the agreement, Astria -- a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for rare allergic and immunological diseases -- will assume full cost and responsibility for the global development and commercialisation of the licensed therapeutic programme for all indications. "In exchange, Ichnos will receive up to USD 320 million in upfront, development, regulatory and sales milestone payments in addition to up to low double-digit royalties," it added.

The company further said Ichnos has also agreed to allow Astria to draw down on its existing investigational drug substance and drug product stocks at normalised costs to facilitate development. "As Ichnos continues to grow as a biotechnology company, this agreement enables our team to focus on advancing our robust pipeline of clinical-stage multispecific antibodies in oncology generated by our proprietary BEAT platform, as well as continue the discovery and development of our NK-cell engaging programmess for solid tumors," Ichnos Managing Director, President and CEO Cyril Konto said.

Ichnos is confident in Astria Therapeutics' capabilities and vision for pursuing the development of its OX40 programme and delivering a potentially life-changing treatment to patients with inflammatory and immune diseases, Konto added. Astria Therapeutics co-founder and CEO Jill Milne said, "We believe that by using Ichnos' affinity-matured next generation monoclonal antibody OX40 antagonist and applying YTE half-life extension technology, we have the potential to deliver a best-in-class profile for atopic dermatitis patients; one that we think can be safe, effective, and long-acting." In addition to OX40 antagonism already being a clinically validated mechanism in atopic dermatitis, Milne said, "We also are excited about the opportunity for potential expansion into additional indications."

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