Hengrui Pharma has announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Braveheart Bio for HRS-1893, a small-molecule inhibitor of cardiac myosin independently developed by Hengrui Pharma with best-in-class potential. Braveheart Bio is a newly launched, US-based biotechnology company focused on cardiovascular disease with a consortium of lead investors that includes Forbion, OrbiMed, and others.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hengrui Pharma has granted Braveheart exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise HRS-1893 worldwide, excluding Mainland China, the Hong Kong SAR, the Macao SAR, and Taiwan Region, the company said in a statement.

Braveheart will make an upfront payment of USD 65 million (consisting of USD 32.5 million in cash and USD 32.5 million in Braveheart shares) and a near-term payment of up to USD 10 million upon technology transfer completion, totalling USD 75 million. Hengrui Pharma is eligible to receive potential development and commercial milestone payments of up to USD 1.013 billion, in addition to related royalties based on the net sales.

Frank Jiang, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Hengrui Pharma, said, “This marks the second time in less than 18 months that Hengrui Pharma has partnered with leading international investment institutions and leveraged the NewCo model in our efforts to ensure our innovation benefits patients worldwide. This agreement demonstrates the global competitiveness of our diversified, high-value R&D pipeline, and will accelerate the development of our innovative therapies for cardiovascular diseases, bringing more clinically valuable treatment options to patients around the world.”

Braveheart Bio CEO Travis Murdoch remarked, “We're excited to partner with Hengrui to advance HRS-1893 into late-stage clinical development. The recently presented Phase 1 data on HRS-1893 at ESC 2025 support our conviction in this molecule. We believe that it may confer best-in-class properties among cardiac myosin inhibitors. We are looking forward to further advancing its potential as a differentiated therapeutic for large and growing unmet needs in cardiovascular disease.”

In May 2024, Hengrui Pharma completed a deal leveraging the NewCo model, out-licensing its portfolio of innovative GLP-1 class drugs (HRS-7535, HRS9531, HRS-4729) to Kailera Therapeutics, a newly established US-based company backed by prominent investment institutions including Bain Capital Life Sciences, Atlas Venture, and RTW Investments, of which the total deal value, comprising upfront and milestone payments, could reach up to USD 6 billion. Hengrui also acquired a 19.9 percent equity stake in the new company.

The company stated that HRS-1893 is one of Hengrui Pharma's key innovative achievements in the heart disease space and recently entered Phase 3 clinical trials. Currently, the company has more than 10 innovative products in the cardiovascular disease field that have advanced to clinical research or beyond. Hengrui Pharma is also progressing investigational candidates for the treatment of heart disease, including SHR-6934, SHR-4658 and HRS-9057 in heart failure-related clinical studies.