Glenmark spins out bispecific portfolio through Ichnos

The biotech spin-off from Glenmark begins life with a considerable portfolio of assets and will be led by former Gilead and Novartis executive, Alessandro Riva.

Ichnos Sciences will be headquartered in the US, in New Jersey, but will hold an international footprint, with a research center and good manufacturing practice (GMP)-certified facility in Switzerland, a small molecule research site in India, and a development site in Paramus, New Jersey.

The biotech stated that its name is taken from an ancient Greek word meaning ‘footprint’.

The company currently possesses five drug candidates in its portfolio, across the oncology, autoimmune disease, and pain therapeutics areas.

This includes two oncology candidates in Phase I development and two assets in Phase II trials within pain.

Ichnos lead asset is GBR 830, which is an anti-OX40 monoclonal antibody, currently in Phase IIb clinical development for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. The results from the trial are expected in 2020.

The company’s portfolio in oncology has been established through the use of its ‘Beat’ (bispecific engagement by antibodies based on the T cell receptor) platform. Its lead candidate in the area is GBR 1342, a bispecific antibody for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma, which was granted orphan drug designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Glenmark’s investment in its biologics unit occurred even whilst the spinout was under way, with a deal earlier this month​ for the commercial license to use Horizon’s gene edited cell lines.