On 12 May 2026, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Hengrui Pharma announced that they have entered into global strategic collaboration and licence agreements to advance 13 early stage innovative medicines across oncology, haematology and immunology. The transaction is expected to close in Q3/2026.
The agreements include the following unnamed products: four oncology/hematology assets from Hengrui, four immunology assets from BMS, and five innovative assets to be jointly discovered and developed.
Hengrui Pharma is the largest publicly listed pharmaceutical company in China (by market value). Its therapeutic areas of focus include oncology, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, immunological and respiratory disease, and neuroscience.
Under the terms of the agreement, BMS has the exclusive global rights to the Hengrui assets outside of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Hengrui has the exclusive rights to the BMS assets within its territory, with BMS retaining rights for the rest of the world. Hengrui is responsible for early clinical development.
BMS is required to pay Hengrui up to US$950 million, including a US$600 million upfront payment, a US$175 million first anniversary payment and a contingent US$175 million second anniversary payment. Hengrui is eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales of BMS-commercialised products. The potential total value of the agreement is up to approximately US$15.2 billion.