A new pharmaceutical startup called Braveheart Bio has just acquired the rights to a promising heart medication originally developed in China. The company, which was formed last year in Delaware but doesn’t yet have a public website, has signed a deal with Hengrui Pharma, a major Chinese drugmaker. Under the agreement, Braveheart will pay $32.5 million in cash and an equal amount in company shares for the rights to develop and sell the drug, called HRS-1893, everywhere except China and Taiwan. If the drug succeeds, Hengrui could earn an additional $10 million soon and up to $1 billion in future milestone payments, plus a share of future sales. This deal is part of a growing trend where U.S. and European startups are licensing drugs from Chinese companies to build their own product pipelines. Since the start of this year, at least 19 private companies in the U.S. and Europe have done similar deals, according to industry data. The increase in these agreements highlights how quickly China’s pharmaceutical industry is growing and how fast Chinese companies can move new drugs into clinical testing. Hengrui, one of China’s largest drugmakers, has been very active in partnerships. Besides the Braveheart deal, it has recently formed collaborations with major companies like Merck & Co. and GSK, as well as smaller firms like Kailera Therapeutics. Earlier, Hengrui also licensed a respiratory disease drug to Aiolos Bio, which was later bought by GSK for $1 billion. Braveheart’s new drug, HRS-1893, is designed to treat a serious heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscle becomes dangerously stiff. The first approved treatment for this condition, Camzyos from Bristol Myers Squibb, was introduced in 2022. Other companies, including Cytokinetics and Edgewise Therapeutics, are also developing treatments for this condition. Like these, HRS-1893 is a myosin inhibitor, meaning it helps reduce the force of the heart’s contractions. The drug is currently in late-stage clinical trials (Phase 3) for the more common form of the condition that Camzyos treats. Cytokinetics’ drug may also receive approval later this year. Early trial results presented last month suggest HRS-1893 could be a highly effective treatment, according to Braveheart’s CEO, Travis Murdoch. He stated that the company is excited to advance this drug as a potential breakthrough for heart disease. While Braveheart is still relatively unknown, it has strong financial backing from investors like Forbion and OrbiMed and is focused on heart conditions. Murdoch previously led an immune drug startup, HI-Bio, which was acquired by Biogen last year.