Hengrui Pharma and Bristol Myers Squibb entered into global strategic collaboration and license agreements to advance a portfolio of 13 early stage programs in oncology, hematology and immunology, with the goal of accelerating discovery and development of innovative medicines for the benefit of patients worldwide. The agreements include four oncology/hematology assets from Hengrui, four immunology assets from Bristol Myers Squibb, and five innovative assets to be jointly discovered and developed by both companies, leveraging Hengrui's discovery engine and platform technologies across several innovative modalities. Hengrui has the option to co-develop select assets and the potential to conduct certain commercialization activities globally with Bristol Myers Squibb.
Under the collaboration, Bristol Myers Squibb obtains exclusive worldwide rights to the Hengrui-originated assets outside Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, and Macau SAR (the "Hengrui Territory"), while Hengrui obtains exclusive rights to the Bristol Myers Squibb-originated assets within the Hengrui Territory, with Bristol Myers Squibb retaining rights for the rest of the world. Hengrui will be fully responsible for early clinical development to accelerate clinical proof of concept for these programs. Under the terms of the agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb will pay Hengrui up to $950 million, including a $600 million upfront payment, a $175 million first anniversary payment, and a second contingent anniversary payment of $175 million in 2028. The potential total value of the agreement is up to approximately $15,200 million, including the exercise of available options for the joint discovery programs and the achievement of applicable development, regulatory, and commercial milestones for all programs. In addition, Hengrui is eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales of products commercialized outside the Hengrui Territory.
The transaction is subject to review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and other customary closing conditions. The parties expect that the agreement will close in the third quarter of 2026.
