China is going through a major transformation in healthcare and encouraging innovation, said Glenn Saldanha, Chairman and Managing Director of Glenmark, explaining the backdrop to their exclusive agreement with Harbour BioMed to develop a treatment that targets HER2 positive cancers.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals SA and Harbour BioMed had on Monday morning said that they inked an exclusive license agreement for the Greater China region to develope, manufacture and commercialise GBR 1302, Glenmark’s bispecific antibody targeting HER2 and CD3 in the treatment of cancers that tested positive for the HER2 protein.
“While a commercial product is still about four years away, the deal had a potential of more than $120 million including upfront payment, development-related milestones and future royalty payments,” Saldanha told BusinessLine. Since the Harbour Biomed alliance is for the Greater China region, Saldanha said, Glenmark would scout for partners in other regions. “In fact, conversations are ongoing with drug makers for other markets and other products in the pipeline,” he said.
“China over the last two years has seen many biotech startup companies setting up, and the regulatory environment too has become more encouraging,” he said, adding that their deal with Harbour BioMed was significant from a commercial standpoint. The latest collaboration will generate clinical data to support the registration of GBR 1302 in HER2-positive indications in their respective territories.
How it works
Glenmark’s lead immuno-oncology candidate, GBR 1302, works by stimulating the patient’s immune system against HER2 positive tumour cells. The prospective GBR 1302 molecule is currently in a first-in-human study to determine maximum tolerated dose in a population of patients with a variety of HER2-positive cancers, the company said, adding that enrolment for a GBR 1302 clinical study is ongoing in the US and Germany.
Jingsong Wang, Founder and Chief Executive of Harbour BioMed said in a statement that collaborating with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialise a promising, novel bispecific antibody in Greater China would help address the significant unmet medical needs of Chinese cancer patients.