BridgeBio Raises $475 Million in Debt Offering

Rare Daily Staff

BridgeBio Pharma raised $475 million in an upsized private offering of 2.50 percent convertible senior notes due 2027 to qualified institutional buyers. Initial purchasers also have an option to purchase up to an additional $75 million of notes.

BridgeBio was founded in 2015 to identify and advance transformative medicines to treat patients who suffer from Mendelian diseases, which are diseases that arise from defects in a single gene, and cancers with clear genetic drivers.

The company translates research pioneered at academic laboratories and leading medical institutions into products. Their model involves identifying the genetic underpinnings of disease as more cost-efficient genome and exome sequencing becomes available, and taking advantage of the progress in molecular biology and increased understanding of the linkage of genes to diseases.

BridgeBio follows a capital efficient business model that involves licensing the rights and setting up subsidiaries to house each candidate in its pipeline, which includes more than 20 development programs ranging from early discovery to late-stage development. The subsidiaries share resources with the parent company and each other.

BridgeBio said its early stage candidate subsidiaries have fewer than five-member teams that can grow as candidates reach human-testing stage.

The debt capital raise follows one of the largest initial public offerings of 2019 in which the company raised $349 million to advance its pipeline. BridgeBio intends to use most of the net proceeds from the convertible notes for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including for the commercial organization and launch preparations, and possible acquisitions or investments.

Photo: BridgeBio CEO Neil Kumar