LianBio, a new Princeton-Shanghai company founded by Perceptive Advisors, acquired China rights to two BridgeBio (NSDQ: BBIO) oncology assets in a $531.5 million agreement. Besides the two oncology assets, LianBio has preferential access to more than 20 BridgeBio drug development candidates for four years. BridgeBio will receive $26.5 million in upfront and milestone payments, plus up to $505 million in future milestones, and additional tiered royalty payments. BridgeBio made an investment in LianBio to increase its equity interest, and BridgeBio CEO Neil Kumar will join LianBio's board of directors.

LianBio was launched today with near-simultaneous announcements of its two initial agreements for China rights to three candidates, two from BridgeBio and one from MyoKardia. Perceptive Advisors, which has invested in BridgeBio and MyoKardia, founded and is the major supporter of LianBio. See our article based on exclusive interviews with principals of Perceptive and LianBio (see article).

BridgeBio is a clinical-stage biopharma focused on genetic diseases and cancers with clear genetic drivers. The partnership marks the first major expansion of BridgeBio’s pipeline into Asia markets.

The partnership will initially focus on two of BridgeBio’s targeted oncology drug candidates: FGFR inhibitor infigratinib, currently in Phase III development for FGFR-driven tumors, and a Phase I-ready SHP2 inhibitor, BBP-398, for tumors driven by RAS and receptor tyrosine kinase mutations.

LianBio is participating in the ongoing Phase III study of infigratinib as a first line treatment for cholangiocarcinoma (PROOF) in mainland China. It plans to start a Phase IIa study of infigratinib in gastric cancer and other FGFR-driven tumors. Also, LianBio will contribute to clinical development of BBP-398, the SHP2 inhibitor, in combination with various agents for solid tumors such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal and pancreatic cancer, in mainland China and other major Asian markets.

The FGFR molecule is being developed by QED Therapeutics, a BridgeBio affiliate. The SHP2 inhbitior is being developed by Navire Pharma, an affiliate of BridgeBio that is a collaboration with the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at MD Anderson.

“Tremendous patient need and a fast-developing healthcare infrastructure make China a strategic priority. We are eager to not only expand late-stage therapies to the broader patient population there, but also to accelerate our clinical development efforts in Asia and better understand and address the needs of patients there – early. We are grateful to be deepening our relationship with Perceptive Advisors through this agreement with LianBio and look forward to a lasting partnership focused on expanding our reach to patients,” said BridgeBio CEO and founder Neil Kumar, PhD.

“We value our relationship with BridgeBio and are happy to be enabling the entry of important programs to LianBio’s territories,” said Adam Stone, CIO of Perceptive Advisors. “BridgeBio and its affiliate companies exemplify the commitment to science-driven, precision medicine that we believe is a key driver to innovation in healthcare. We are excited about this opportunity to leverage their promising pipeline and LianBio’s local expertise to accelerate both global development and local access to leading edge therapeutics.”

See our other articles on LianBio, BridgeBio and MyoKardia.

Disclosure: none.