Hengrui Medicine Announces Strategic Global Collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb, Potential Deal Value Reaching USD 15.2 Billion

Cailian Press, May 12 (Reporter Wuchao)Hengrui Pharma(600276.SH) announced at noon today that it has signed a global strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with global biopharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). According to the agreement, the two parties will jointly advance 13 early-stage research projects covering oncology, hematology, and immunology. The milestone payments under the agreement could reach up to approximately $15.2 billion, setting another milestone for overseas licensing transactions by Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies.

Following the announcement, Hengrui Pharma's stock quickly surged after the midday opening, with its A-shares rising over 9% and H-shares climbing more than 15% at one point.

This collaboration represents another significant step in Hengrui Pharma's recent globalization strategy. The agreement includes four oncology and hematology projects originally developed by Hengrui Pharma, four immunology projects originally developed by BMS, and five co-development projects leveraging Hengrui Pharma's R&D engine and diversified innovative technology platforms. The announcement noted that all projects involved have not yet entered the clinical research stage.

According to the rights distribution clause of the agreement, BMS has obtained the global exclusive rights, excluding mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, and Macao SAR, for the above-mentioned Hengrui Pharma's self-developed projects and co-development projects based on Hengrui’s platform. Correspondingly, Hengrui Pharma has obtained the exclusive rights in the aforementioned regions for BMS' self-developed projects, while BMS retains the rights for other global regions outside these areas. Hengrui will take full responsibility for the early clinical development of the above projects, accelerating clinical proof-of-concept.

In terms of financial terms, the agreement established three structures. First, BMS will pay Hengrui Pharma up to $950 million in upfront and anniversary payments. Specifically, this is divided into a $600 million upfront payment, a $175 million first anniversary payment, and a conditional $175 million anniversary payment in 2028. Second, the agreement also includes milestone payments, covering the exercise of co-development project options and all projects achieving corresponding development, registration, and commercialization milestones, with a potential total transaction value of approximately $15.2 billion. Additionally, Hengrui Pharma is entitled to receive tiered royalties from BMS based on the net sales of the products.

Reporters from Cailian Press noted that this collaboration marks another significant international move by Hengrui Pharma, following the approximately $60 billion licensing of its GLP-1 product portfolio to U.S.-based Hercules in 2024 and a roughly $120 billion cooperation agreement with GSK in 2025. Within just two years, Hengrui has consecutively completed three major outbound licensing deals with a cumulative potential transaction value exceeding $340 billion.

From an industry-wide comparison, the agreement between Hengrui Pharma and GSK in August last year set a record for the largest single BD transaction by a Chinese innovative pharmaceutical company at that time. By January this year, the approximately $18.5 billion deal between CSPC Pharmaceutical Group and AstraZeneca broke the record again for the highest amount in a similar BD deal, with Hengrui's transaction following closely behind. Notably, both the over $10 billion deals between Hengrui and BMS, as well as CSPC and AstraZeneca, occurred in the first half of 2026, indicating that the global competitiveness of China's innovative pharmaceutical assets is increasingly gaining substantial recognition from top international pharmaceutical companies.

Hengrui Pharma stated in the announcement that this agreement aligns with the synergistic innovation strategies of both BMS and Hengrui, demonstrating their continued commitment to advancing scientific innovation through collaboration in areas of significant and unmet medical needs. Leveraging BMS’s differentiated R&D strengths, global clinical development capabilities, regulatory expertise, and commercial scale, as well as Hengrui's drug discovery engine, technology platforms, and highly efficient early research capabilities, this collaboration will accelerate the advancement of a series of high-value projects.

According to Hengrui Pharma's official WeChat account, Dr. Ningjun Jiang, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of the company, stated: "This extensive strategic cooperation fully demonstrates the deep synergy between two global innovation leaders with complementary strengths. Relying on Hengrui Pharma's continuously upgraded innovative R&D capabilities and efficiency advantages, we will fully advance these high-quality assets in both parties' pipelines. This collaboration also reflects Hengrui's firm determination to deepen its global layout. We will work hand-in-hand with our partners to bring more breakthrough treatment options to patients worldwide."

The announcement also highlighted risks: the process from drug development, clinical trial approval to commercialization is lengthy with multiple stages, and there is uncertainty regarding whether the final collaborative project will successfully gain market approval. Payments tied to milestones outlined in the agreement are contingent upon specific conditions, and the final amount remains uncertain. The transaction still requires approval from relevant regulatory authorities and fulfillment of other customary closing conditions. Both parties anticipate that the agreement will be finalized in the third quarter of 2026.