BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. Enters Into Collaboration Agreement With Johns Hopkins University to Accelerate Development of New Medicines in Genetically Driven Diseases

06.18.2020 at 7:30 AM EDT

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on genetic diseases, today announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Johns Hopkins University to support the translation of academic innovations in genetically driven diseases with a goal of clinical development and potential commercialization to reach patients in need.

“We are privileged to establish a framework for collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, an institution that has pioneered our understanding of Mendelian disease. Our hope is that this relationship will allow us to build on the significant advances being made in Johns Hopkins’ labs and support work to translate them as quickly and as safely as possible into meaningful medicines for patients in need,” said BridgeBio CEO and founder Neil Kumar, Ph.D.

BridgeBio has a deep interest in understanding where great science is occurring and determining how it can support translating academic findings into treatments for patients, including by helping advance the important discoveries in genetic drivers of specific diseases made at Johns Hopkins. The company is focused on building relationships with academic partners to smooth and speed up the transition from the lab to the patient.

BridgeBio will focus on opportunities to support the incredible, early-discovery research around genetically validated targets underway at Johns Hopkins. Where possible, BridgeBio will invest heavily in programs to accelerate promising genetic-disease therapies to the clinic, from gene therapy to small molecule. It will lend its expertise to science designed to help develop a promising molecule or approach into a viable preclinical program, including medicinal chemistry for small-molecule hit optimization, strategies to modify or formulate a potential biologic therapy or approaches for testing non-optimized viral vectors. Additionally, BridgeBio may conduct proof-of-concept studies for lead therapeutic compounds in relevant mammalian models.

BridgeBio seeks to revolutionize partnerships between drug development companies and biomedical research institutions by moving away from one-off interactions and building long-term partnerships based on trust, engagement, science and respect. The company is committed to acting responsibly with academic investigators who are on the front lines of understanding the mechanisms of genetically driven diseases and have great insights into how these diseases may be treated.

About BridgeBio Pharma
BridgeBio is a team of experienced drug discoverers, developers and innovators working to create life-altering medicines that target well-characterized genetic diseases at their source. BridgeBio was founded in 2015 to identify and advance transformative medicines to treat patients who suffer from Mendelian diseases, which are diseases that arise from defects in a single gene, and cancers with clear genetic drivers. BridgeBio's pipeline of over 20 development programs includes product candidates ranging from early discovery to late-stage development. For more information, please visit bridgebio.com.

BridgeBio Pharma Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements we make in this press release may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which are usually identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,” and variations of such words or similar expressions.  We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act and are making this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions.  These forward-looking statements, including statements relating to expectations, plans, and prospects regarding our ability to build on the significant advances being made in Johns Hopkins’ labs and translate them into meaningful medicines for patients in need, the success of current and future relationships with third-party collaborators and academic partners, and the potential ability of our product candidates to treat genetically driven diseases, reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved.  Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, the success of our product candidates to treat genetically driven diseases and the success of our collaboration with Johns Hopkins, as well as those risks set forth in the Risk Factors section of BridgeBio Pharma’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and BridgeBio Pharma’s other SEC filings. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment in which new risks emerge from time to time. Except as required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:
Ian Stone
Canale Communications
ian@canalecomm.com
(619) 849-5388

Grace Rauh
BridgeBio Pharma, Inc.
Grace.rauh@bridgebio.com
(917) 232-5478