BridgeBio transfers rare disease drugs to new company

BridgeBio Pharma has initiated the transfer of several preclinical and early clinical-stage drugs to a new company named GondolaBio, which has secured a pledged investment of $300 million from a coalition of prominent life sciences investors. Among the investors supporting GondolaBio are Viking Global Investors, Patient Square Capital, and Frazier Life Sciences, as disclosed in a Wednesday securities filing by BridgeBio. Additionally, an entity owned by BridgeBio CEO Neil Kumar is involved in the investment.

Based in Palo Alto, California, BridgeBio will initially retain a 45% ownership stake in GondolaBio. However, this stake will decrease as additional capital commitments are met. GondolaBio will take over drug development programs focused on rare diseases such as erythropoietic protoporphyria, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and tuberous sclerosis complex.

This is not the first time BridgeBio has streamlined its drug pipeline. Earlier this year, the company spun out a series of experimental cancer drugs into a new entity named BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics. BridgeBio employs a hub-and-spoke operational model, serving as the parent company for various biotech subsidiaries. Over the years, it has launched multiple subsidiaries, including QED Therapeutics and Adrenas Therapeutics, and reacquired another subsidiary, Eidos Therapeutics, which it had originally formed in 2017.

The establishment of GondolaBio was recommended by a committee of independent and disinterested directors and subsequently approved by BridgeBio's board. Despite requests for further information, BridgeBio has not provided additional details regarding GondolaBio beyond what was included in the securities filing.

Additional investors committing to GondolaBio include Sequoia Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, and Aisling Capital. BridgeBio's primary asset is a heart medication called acoramidis, which showed success in Phase 3 clinical trials last year. The company has submitted an approval application in the United States, with a decision anticipated by late November.