Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, a Chinese developer of novel drugs, could receive up to US$1.01 billion in milestone payments after granting a US company exclusive rights to develop a heart disease drug, the latest example of mainland drug makers licensing early-stage assets to international partners.
Jiangsu Hengrui entered into a licensing agreement with one-year-old US start-up Braveheart Bio for its innovative drug HRS-1893 to treat obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday.
The deal gives Braveheart Bio exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise the drug outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Jiangsu Hengrui will receive an initial payment totalling US$75 million, which includes cash, Braveheart Bio shares and a near-term milestone payment of up to US$10 million.
Braveheart Bio’s CEO Travis Murdoch previously founded Human Immunology Biosciences, selling the clinical-stage biotech firm to Biogen for US$1.8 billion in 2024.
About one in 500 people worldwide suffers from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most common genetic heart muscle disorder, according to a research paper from the National Library of Medicine, the world’s largest medical library based in Bethesda, Maryland.
