Drugmaker Lupin has received a milestone payment of $25 million (around ₹205 crore) from AbbVie for the successful initiation of Phase 1 clinical trials on its novel oncology product to treat hematological cancers.

The two companies had inked a licensing, development, and commercialisation agreement in 2018 involving Lupin’s novel MALT1 (Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma Translocation Protein 1) inhibitor programme targetting a range of hematological cancers.

Lupin had previously received an upfront payment of $30 million from AbbVie, and the company was eligible to get up to $947 million in milestone payments, as stated by the companies. Lupin was also entitled to receive a double-digit royalty on the sales of the product and retain commercial rights to the programme in India.

Through this partnership, AbbVie had exclusive global rights to develop and commercialise Lupin’s MALT1 inhibitors. “MALT1 is a protein involved in T-cell and B-cell lymphocyte activation and AbbVie intends to pursue development across a range of hematological cancers, many with limited current treatment options,” the companies said in 2018.

Lupin’s MALT1 inhibitor developed as part of its oncology pipeline had previously shown pre-clinical activity as a single agent as well as in combination, the company said.

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“This achievement is further validation of our ability to successfully develop novel treatments for unmet needs. We look forward to continued successful development of this important treatment for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers,” Nilesh Gupta, Lupin Managing Director, said on the latest development.

Lupin’s Novel Drug Discovery and Development (NDDD) team is focused on building a pipeline of differentiated and innovative new chemical entities in oncology.

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