TLDR:
– BridgeBio Pharma has raised $1.25 billion in a series of financing deals to fund its competition with Pfizer
– The funding will support the launch of the drug acoramidis and the phase 3 readouts for other assets
– Blue Owl Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have provided $500 million, with additional royalties on global sales and a potential return on investment of $950 million
– BridgeBio has also refinanced its existing senior credit facility and received $450 million from Blue Owl.
BridgeBio Pharma has secured $1.25 billion in financing to bolster its competition with Pfizer. The biotech company plans to use the funds to support the launch of its drug acoramidis and the phase 3 readouts for other assets in its pipeline.
Blue Owl Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have provided a total of $500 million to BridgeBio. This investment is contingent upon FDA approval of acoramidis and will earn the investors 5% royalties on global net sales of the drug. The potential return on investment for these companies is estimated to be $950 million.
In addition to the deal with Blue Owl and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, BridgeBio has also refinanced its existing senior credit facility. The agreement with Blue Owl will provide the biotech company with $450 million, extend the maturity of its loan, and grant access to an additional $300 million to support strategic corporate development activities.
The primary goal for BridgeBio is to bring acoramidis to market for the treatment of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), a condition that is currently served by Pfizer’s tafamidis products. BridgeBio filed for FDA approval in November and plans to enter the U.S. market in the second half of 2024, with submissions for approval in other markets also planned for this year.
While analysts have noted that Pfizer is deeply entrenched in the ATTR-CM market and could be difficult to displace, BridgeBio sees the potential for “billions of peak year sales” for acoramidis. The revenue generated, along with BridgeBio’s existing cash reserves, will be used to support the development of other candidates in the company’s pipeline, including phase 3 trials in achondroplasia, a form of muscular dystrophy, and the calcium disorder ADH1.
