BridgeBio Pharma Announces Collaborations with Columbia University and Mount Sinai to Develop Potential Therapies for Genetic Diseases and Cancers

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBIO), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on genetic diseases and cancers, today announced two new academic collaborations with Columbia University and Mount Sinai (Icahn Mount Sinai) to translate cutting-edge research discoveries into potential therapies for patients with genetic diseases and genetically driven cancers.

"Columbia University and Mount Sinai are known for bringing together some of the most talented scientists to develop breakthroughs for patients. By partnering with these world-class research institutions, we are hopeful that together we will be able to help patients in need," said BridgeBio founder and CEO Neil Kumar, Ph.D.

BridgeBio has initiated 25 collaborations with leading institutions around the world that are focused on providing therapeutic options to patients with unmet need as quickly and safely as possible. To learn more about some of the institutions BridgeBio is proud to partner with, please visit Our Partners page.

Collaborating with academic institutions to identify early discoveries is a core pillar of BridgeBio's efforts to reach patients more quickly. The goal of these collaborations is to revolutionize the relationships between drug development companies and biomedical research institutions by moving away from one-off interactions in favor of engaging and creative partnerships.

More than two-thirds of BridgeBio's 30+ pipeline programs have come from partnerships with academic institutions and research centers. For example, BridgeBio's clinical trial of encaleret, which is being investigated for the treatment of autosomal dominant hypocalcemia type 1 (ADH1), has been enabled by a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research at the National Institutes of Health. BridgeBio's investigational medicine acoramidis, which is being developed for the treatment of transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis (ATTR), originated in a lab at Stanford University. BridgeBio partnered with the Stanford researchers and advanced acoramidis from the lab to Phase 3 clinical development in less than three years.

With a diverse pipeline encompassing investigational therapies in Mendelian diseases, precision cardiorenal, precision oncology and gene therapy, BridgeBio provides the insights and support needed to rapidly progress therapeutic research from labs to clinical development. BridgeBio intends to develop similar long-term partnerships based on trust, engagement, science and respect to support its mission of developing potentially life-changing medicines for patients with genetic diseases and cancers as quickly and safely as possible.

Columbia University 
Columbia University has built a research team of translational-focused investigators working on genetic diseases. It also has a technology transfer office that provides mentorship for researchers and funds the early stages of their translational work. BridgeBio intends to collaborate with Columbia University to identify and potentially develop promising therapies for patients with genetic diseases.

"Each year, Columbia researchers produce approximately 400 promising early-stage innovations, which lead to over 100 license agreements and 20 to 30 new startup companies based on Columbia intellectual property," said Orin Herskowitz, executive director of Columbia Technology Ventures, senior vice president for Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer and adjunct professor of business and engineering at Columbia University. "We are excited to work closely with BridgeBio to identify which of these promising innovations have potential to fit into BridgeBio's areas of expertise and benefit from their experience. By doing so, we hope to accelerate the invention's path from the lab to the market and get therapies as quickly as possible into patients who are suffering from genetic diseases."

Mount Sinai Health System 
The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical and graduate school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. In particular, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report's "Best Medical Schools," aligned with a U.S. News & World Report "Honor Roll" Hospital, and No. 14 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding. The partnership between BridgeBio and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will focus specifically on genetic disease and precision oncology to determine new potential therapies that may be meaningful options for patients in need.

"We look forward to collaborating with BridgeBio, and to the opportunity to combine their expertise in drug development with our exceptional scientific teams at Mount Sinai to advance breakthrough genetic disease therapies for patients," said Erik Lium, Ph.D., president of Mount Sinai Innovation Partners and executive vice president and chief commercial innovation officer of Mount Sinai Health System.

About BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. 
BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (BridgeBio) is a biopharmaceutical company founded to discover, create, test and deliver transformative medicines to treat patients who suffer from genetic diseases and cancers with clear genetic drivers. BridgeBio's pipeline of over 30 development programs ranges from early science to advanced clinical trials and its commercial organization is focused on delivering the company's first two approved therapies. BridgeBio was founded in 2015 and its team of experienced drug discoverers, developers and innovators are committed to applying advances in genetic medicine to help patients as quickly as possible. For more information visit bridgebio.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements we make in this press release may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), which are usually identified by the use of words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "projects," "seeks," "should," "will," and variations of such words or similar expressions.  We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act and are making this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions.  These forward-looking statements, including statements relating to expectations, plans, and prospects regarding our partnering with Columbia University and Mount Sinai, the success of current and future relationships with third-party collaborators and academic partners, and the potential ability of our product candidates to treat genetically driven diseases and cancers with clear genetic drivers, reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, and are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made and are not forecasts, promises nor guarantees. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved.  Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, the success of our product candidates to treat genetically driven diseases and cancers with clear genetic drivers, the success of our academic collaborations with Columbia University and Mount Sinai, as well as those risks set forth in the Risk Factors section of BridgeBio Pharma's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and BridgeBio Pharma's other SEC filings. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment in which new risks emerge from time to time. Except as required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

BridgeBio Media Contact:
Grace Rauh
Grace.rauh@bridgebio.com
(917) 232-5478

BridgeBio Investor Contact: 
Katherine Yau 
katherine.yau@bridgebio.com 
(516) 554-5989

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SOURCE BridgeBio