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The basics:

• BMS enters up to $15.2B partnership with China’s Hengrui Pharma
• Deal includes 13 early-stage oncology, hematology, immunology programs
• BMS pays $600M upfront plus milestone-based payments over time
• Companies split global rights across markets, will co-develop select assets

Bristol Myers Squibb has struck a broad partnership with one of China’s biggest drugmakers that could be worth up to $15.2 billion.

As part of the deal, the Lawrenceville-headquartered global biopharmaceutical will pay $600 million upfront to Hengrui Pharma to advance 13 early-stage programs from across the two companies’ pipelines.

According to a May 12 press release, the move aims to accelerate discovery and development of innovative medicines in the areas of oncology, hematology and immunology.

The agreements covers four ⁠cancer and blood-disease drug candidates from Hengrui, four immunology candidates from BMS and five additional projects the companies will work on together.

Under the terms, BMS will secure worldwide rights to Hengrui-developed ⁠assets outside mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Meanwhile, Hengrui will gain exclusive rights to BMS’ programs ⁠in those markets.

Across all 13 programs, responsibility for early clinical development and proof-of-concept work falls to Hengrui.

According to the companies, BMS will make a $175 million payment on the first anniversary of the deal’s close and second contingent anniversary payment of $175 million in 2028. The full $15.2 billion figure includes milestone payments tied to development, regulatory and commercial targets, as well as options for jointly discovered programs, BMS and Hengrui said.

The transaction is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of 2026.

On a mission

BMS Chief Research Officer and Executive Vice President Robert Plenge remarked, “This strategic collaboration reflects our commitment to advancing innovative science while maintaining a disciplined approach to portfolio management.”

“By leveraging complementary capabilities across geographies, we aim to accelerate early clinical learning and make informed decisions that support driving top tier growth in the next decade and, ultimately, our mission to deliver medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases,” he said.

Hengrui Chief Strategy Officer Frank Jiang feels the “broad strategic collaboration reflects a highly synergistic collaboration between two global innovators with complementary strengths.”

“By leveraging Hengrui’s growing R&D capabilities and proven efficiency in discovering and advancing innovative therapies, we are poised to advance the best of both pipelines,” he went on. “It also reflects Hengrui’s continued commitment to strengthen our global presence. Together, we aim to deliver meaningful benefits to patients worldwide.”

For global pharmaceutical companies, China has become an increasingly attractive option for early-stage assets due to its deep pool of experimental compounds and swifter route to clinical proof of concept, Bloomberg noted.

Hengrui has previously struck licensing deals with multinational firms including a $200 million pact with Merck in Rahway. Britain’s GSK also reached an agreement with the company that could be worth up to $12 billion, according to Fierce Biotech.