Hengrui’s 13-program BMS deal is latest move toward globalization

Hengrui’s two-way licensing agreement with BMS marks another step in the fast-growing Chinese biopharma’s global expansion, pairing the in-licensing of Western products with the out-licensing of its own innovations to the worldwide market.

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. (Shanghai:600276; HKEX:1276) is to receive $600 million up front plus $350 million in near-term payments under Tuesday’s deal with Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY). The additional payments are due in two $175 million installments on the deal’s first and second anniversaries, in 2027 and 2028. Milestones could bring the total value to $15.2 billion...