BridgeBio is again offloading pieces of its pipeline as it stares down a November drug approval decision that could spark competition with Pfizer and Alnylam.
The California biotech has formed a new company known as GondolaBio, which will continue work on BridgeBio’s programs in erythropoietic protoporphyria, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and tuberous sclerosis complex.
The new startup has $300 million in commitments from Viking Global Investors, Jim Momtazee’s Patient Square Capital, Sequoia Capital, Frazier Life Sciences, Bihua Chen’s Cormorant Asset Management, Aisling Capital and an entity owned by BridgeBio CEO Neil Kumar.
Earlier this spring, Cormorant led the $200 million financing for another BridgeBio spinout named BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics.
BridgeBio holds about 45% of GondolaBio at this time, but that stake will dwindle as the $300 million comes incrementally, according to a Wednesday morning SEC filing.
James LiLeading the new biotech is president James Li, who assumed that title this month after serving as chief business officer of the company’s research discovery unit, BridgeBioX, and as the company’s head of China, according to his LinkedIn.
BridgeBio Oncology and GondolaBio are likely to be joined by others. On its website, BridgeBio lists nine programs for which it’s seeking partners. They, too, could eventually form the backbone of a new startup.
In the meantime, BridgeBio is preparing for a potential approval in late November for its transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) pill known as acoramidis. Pfizer already markets an ATTR-CM treatment, and Alnylam is following closely with a planned label expansion request for its drug.
Gondola’s pipeline
GondolaBio is looking to target erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), which is a condition that causes ultra-sensitivity to sunlight. Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals secured the first FDA approval for a treatment in 2019. Disc Medicine’s ex-Roche asset missed the bar in a Phase 2 trial earlier this year, but the company said it still plans to move into a registrational study and will provide more details later this year.
Meanwhile, multiple startups are involved in the field of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, or AATD, a genetic condition that impairs the liver and lungs. It is being targeted by Wave Life Sciences, Korro Bio, AIRNA, Intellia, Sanofi and others.
In tuberous sclerosis complex, Novartis and Jazz Pharmaceuticals market some of the treatments for various manifestations of the rare genetic disease, which can lead to benign tumors in the brain, spinal cord, skin and other areas of the body. Others are looking to enter the space, including Marinus, Noema Pharma and others.