BMS, Hengrui Pharma Partner to Advance Early Stage Programs

Bristol Myers Squibb and Hengrui Pharma have 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.

Under the terms of the agreement, BMS 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 $15.2 billion, 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 parties expect that the agreement will close in the third quarter of 2026.

About the Agreement

The agreements include four oncology/hematology assets from Hengrui, four immunology assets from BMS, 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 BMS.

Under the collaboration, BMS 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 BMS‑originated assets within the Hengrui Territory, with BMS 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.

The collaboration brings together BMS’s differentiated research and discovery strengths, global clinical development capabilities, regulatory expertise, and commercial scale with Hengrui Pharma’s discovery engine, platform technologies, and efficient early-stage development expertise, enabling the advancement of a broad portfolio of high-value programs.

“This strategic collaboration reflects our commitment to advancing innovative science while maintaining a disciplined approach to portfolio management,” said Robert Plenge, MD, PhD, EVP and Chief Research Officer, BMS. “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.”

“This 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,” said Frank Jiang, MD, PhD, EVPand Chief Strategy Officer of Hengrui Pharma. “It also reflects Hengrui’s continued commitment to strengthen our global presence. Together, we aim to deliver meaningful benefits to patients worldwide.”