Braveheart Bio
Single-asset cardiology NewCo developing Hengrui's cardiac myosin inhibitor HRS-1893 outside China; IPO'd on Nasdaq in August 2026.
1. Core Product / Service
Braveheart Bio (San Francisco) was incorporated in Delaware on 2024-05-13 and began operating in 2025 [1]. In September 2025 it in-licensed worldwide rights excluding Greater China to BHB-1893 (Hengrui's HRS-1893), a next-generation oral small-molecule cardiac myosin inhibitor (CMI), and launched publicly in November 2025 [1][2].
BHB-1893 targets obstructive and non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM, nHCM). The pitch versus approved CMIs (mavacamten, aficamten) is faster onset, deeper gradient response and less ejection-fraction risk, which would reduce titration and monitoring burden [1]. In Hengrui's 42-patient Phase 2 oHCM study, Cohort 2 showed an 86% complete response rate at Week 12 [1]. Braveheart plans the global Phase 3 LIONHEART-HCM (oHCM) in 2H 2026 and NOBLEHEART-HCM (nHCM) in 1H 2027; Hengrui runs its own China Phase 3 in oHCM and a China Phase 2 in HFpEF [1].
2. Target Users & Pain Points
- Patients / cardiologists: HCM patients for whom current CMIs need intensive echocardiographic monitoring (a REMS programme for mavacamten), which limits use outside specialist centres [1].
- Licensor: Hengrui gets a Western development vehicle plus equity, without running US Phase 3 itself.
3. Competitive Landscape
| Player | Asset | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol Myers Squibb | Mavacamten (Camzyos) | First-in-class CMI; missed dual primary endpoints in nHCM [1] |
| Cytokinetics | Aficamten (Myqorzo) | Second approved CMI; met both nHCM primary endpoints [1] |
| Braveheart | BHB-1893 | Still to begin global Phase 3; data so far from Hengrui trials in China [1] |
4. Unique Observations
- Fully dependent on the licensor's wet lab and supply. The prospectus says Hengrui supplies all drug substance and drug product; ex-China CDMO routes are being developed but are not yet available, and Braveheart was "not involved in the design, conduct, or oversight" of any completed trial [1]. With 30 full-time staff (20 in R&D) as of May 2026, it is a clinical-development and financing shell around a Chinese molecule [1].
- Chinese preclinical method as part of the dossier. HRS-1893's 2023 China IND was reported as the first Chinese clinical approval supported by heart organ-on-chip data; the chip screening was done in 2020 by a Southeast University research institute — an example of the academic and contract wet-lab layer behind Chinese originator assets [5].
- Investor pattern. CEO Travis Murdoch previously founded HI-Bio (sold to Biogen for up to $1.8B), and the a16z Bio–Forbion–OrbiMed syndicate shows the NewCo model being run by repeat US company builders rather than by the Chinese licensor [1].
5. Financials / Funding
- Series A: ~$185M (a16z Bio, Forbion, OrbiMed, Enavate Sciences, Frazier Life Sciences) [1][3].
- IPO: Nasdaq BRVE, priced 2026-08-05 at $18/share, 21.25M shares = $382.5M gross; first-day gain of about 66% reported [1][4].
- Hengrui terms (per prospectus): $32.5M cash upfront plus 32.5M non-voting Series A preferred shares (original price $1.00, fair value $25.7M); up to $23M in technology-transfer and development milestones and up to $1.0B in commercial milestones; tiered royalties of 5–10% [1].
- Conflict note: the 2025 press release described $65M upfront (half cash, half stock), up to $10M near-term payments and up to $1.013B in milestones [2]; the prospectus totals (≈$1.023B milestones) differ slightly in how near-term items are bucketed [1].
6. People & Relationships
- CEO: Travis Murdoch, M.D. (founder of HI-Bio); CFO: Paul Rickey [1].
- Licensor / supplier / shareholder: Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals.
- Investors: a16z Bio (GP Vineeta Agarwala joins the board), Forbion, OrbiMed, Enavate, Frazier [1].
- Peer NewCos: kailera-therapeutics (also Hengrui), candid-therapeutics, timberlyne-therapeutics, windward-bio, verdiva-bio, sentivera.
Sources
- [1] Braveheart Bio, final prospectus (424B4), SEC EDGAR, filed 2026-08-06 (accessed 2026-10-14)
- [2] Hengrui / Braveheart license press release, BioSpace (accessed 2026-10-14)
- [3] Fierce Biotech, Braveheart $185M Series A (accessed 2026-10-14)
- [4] BioPharma Dive, Braveheart IPO pricing (accessed 2026-10-14)
- [5] Research notes on Chinese organ-on-chip companies, 2026-10-01 (citing Hengrui and Southeast University disclosures)