BMS buys Asian rights to key growth drug Camzyos

Bristol-Myers Squibb has decided it wants complete, worldwide control of cardiovascular drug mavacamten, tipped as a future blockbuster, so it has paid $350 million to shore up its rights in Asia.

The deal with Shanghai-based LianBio gives BMS rights to the first-in-class, orally active cardiac myosin inhibitor in China and other major Asian markets, including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, and Thailand.

BMS took control of mavacamten in 2020, when it bought its developer MyoKardia for $13 billion, but LianBio had already bagged rights to the drug in Asia via the creation of a strategic partnership that resulted in a $40 million payment from the Chinese company.

MyoKardia was also in line to receive regulatory and sales milestone payments of up to $147.5 million under the terms of that deal, but the remaining $127.5 million commitment has now been waived.

Mavacamten has since been approved in the US, Europe, and Japan under the Camzyos brand name as a treatment for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) – an inherited, progressive disease that thickens the heart walls and makes it harder for the heart to expand normally and fill with blood.

Analysts have predicted that sales could reach $2 billion in that indication alone, and potentially more if the label for the drug is extended to include non-obstructive HCM, while BMS has a target of $4 billion for the drug at peak.

It still has a long way to go – first-half sales were $75 million – but in June the drug picked up a second FDA approval extending its label to include the treatment of patients with severe obstructive HCM who need a surgical or catheter-based procedure called septal reduction therapy (SRT).

China – the world’s second-largest pharma market – is a key growth area for Camzyos, with some estimates suggesting there could be up to a million eligible patients in the country, although HCM is notoriously under-diagnosed and many patients don’t display symptoms.

In April, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) started a priority review of mavacamten for HCM, and the drug is already approved in Macau and Singapore.

“Expanding our footprint in China by bringing innovative medicines forwards for patients suffering from serious diseases is an important strategic objective for the company,” said Adam Lenkowsky, BMS’ chief commercialisation officer.

Some LianBio personnel working on the development and commercialisation of mavacamten will be offered employment with BMS.