LianBio Officially Launches as a Platform Focused on Drug Development and Commercialization in China and Other Asian Markets

LianBio (LianBio) announced its official establishment earlier. LianBio is a company founded, nurtured, and incubated by Perceptive Advisors. Its product pipeline includes multiple potentially breakthrough therapeutic products from Myokardia, Navire Pharma (a subsidiary of BridgeBio), and QED Therapeutics. Furthermore, LianBio has entered into a strategic partnership with BridgeBio Pharma, granting it priority access to more than 20 products in BridgeBio’s pipeline.

In an interview with VCBeat, Li Bing, CEO of LianBio, stated: “LianBio’s founding investor, Perceptive Advisors, is a renowned investment fund in the U.S. life sciences sector. Two years ago, Perceptive began considering investments in China’s life sciences industry. After careful deliberation, it sought to partner with experienced pharmaceutical operations executives to establish a platform focused on drug development and commercialization in China and other Asian regions. Leveraging Perceptive’s extensive global life sciences resources and the LianBio management team’s deep operational expertise, LianBio was founded with the initial mission of rapidly bringing breakthrough therapies in relevant disease areas to China and other Asian markets through collaborations with leading global biotechnology companies and industry peers. LianBio’s business model and resources optimize such industry partnerships. Our goal is to become a leader in China’s innovative life sciences industry by adopting the best collaborative models. This is also why we named our company ‘Lian’ (meaning ‘link’ or ‘connect’).”

Regarding LianBio’s development direction in 2020 and 2021, Li Bing stated, “LianBio is currently focused on breakthrough therapies in oncology and cardiorenal care, which are of critical importance to patients in China. Over the next two years, we will further enrich our product pipeline in oncology and cardiorenal care through collaborations. Meanwhile, we plan to expand into two to three new therapeutic areas, which will also significantly help address the urgent need for breakthrough therapies among Chinese patients.”

Li Bing further pointed out that LianBio’s operational team in China, established over a short period, currently comprises approximately 20–30 members; it is expected to grow to around 100 employees by the end of next year.