AbbVie Enters Licensing Agreement For IGI Therapeutics’ Experimental Oncology Drug: Retail Cheers

AbbVie (ABBV) and IGI Therapeutics SA have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for the latter’s lead investigational oncology drug ISB 2001, the companies said on Thursday.

ABBV shares were trading nearly 3% higher at the time of writing.

Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will receive exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize ISB 2001 across North America, Europe, Japan, and Greater China.

IGI will receive an upfront payment of $700 million and is eligible to receive up to $1.23 billion in development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, along with tiered, double-digit royalties on net sales, subject to regulatory clearances.

IGI Therapeutics SA is a wholly owned subsidiary of New York-based Ichnos Glenmark Innovation, Inc. Its lead candidate, ISB 2001, is a trispecific T-cell engager currently in early-stage trials for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells.

A trispecific T cell engager (TriTE) is a type of engineered antibody designed to simultaneously bind to three different targets – two tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) on cancer cells and the CD3 receptor on T cells. This multi-target approach aims to enhance the efficacy and specificity of cancer immunotherapy.

U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted ISB 2001 Fast Track Designation for the treatment of relapsed/refractory myeloma patients in May 2025. Fast track is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need.

“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," AbbVie chief scientific officer, Roopal Thakkar, said.

AbbVie has a strong oncology portfolio, which brought in $1.63 billion in net revenues in the first quarter of 2025, marking a growth of 5.8% year-on-year. The oncology portfolio accounted for 12% of the company’s total net revenue in the quarter.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around ABBV jumped from ‘bearish’ to ‘neutral’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume remained at ‘normal’ levels.

ABBV stock is up by 10% this year and by about 16% over the past 12 months.

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