Formation Bio is inking a deal worth more than $600 million in biobucks for ex-China rights to a next-gen immunology asset from Lynk Pharmaceuticals.
Lynk’s program will be developed by Formation’s freshly formed subsidiary, dubbed Bleecker Bio, according to a Dec. 10 release.
In return, China-based Lynk will receive a minority equity stake in the new subsidiary, which is also supported by VC Pacific Bridge NY. Lynk will also collect an upfront payment and have the chance to bring in additional biobucks for a potential total up to $605 million, plus royalties.
Formation’s Bleecker will gain global rights—excluding the greater China region—to Lynk’s LNK01006, an allosteric TYK2 inhibitor designed to penetrate the central nervous system (CNS). Lynk recently secured FDA clearance to launch in-human trials for the asset, with Formation planning on starting a phase 1 study in the first half of next year, according to the release.
LNK01006 is intended to regulate immune-signaling pathways in the CNS and thereby potentially alter responses associated with multiple autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.
“This asset represents a prime example of what we call our ‘Known In New’ strategy of applying validated mechanisms to novel areas of high unmet need,” Formation Chief Business Officer David Steinberg said in the release.
Formation, a 2025 Fierce 15 winner, has set out to transform the industry’s approach to drug development by in-licensing or acquiring all of the company’s candidates. The company then uses artificial intelligence to clear bottlenecks experienced in clinical trials and make studies more affordable.
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“Leveraging world class human expertise, robust clinical data sets and homegrown, state-of the-art AI tools, we’ve developed deeply grounded hypotheses around novel therapeutic applications of clinically derisked asset classes,” Steinberg added in the release.
The New York-based company was one of 2024’s top biotech money raisers, clinching $372 million in series D financing, and also secured a Sanofi deal worth up to $626 million earlier this year.
The Lynk deal adds a “highly differentiated” clinical candidate to Formation’s “rapidly expanding portfolio of immunology programs,” according to the company.
“Formation’s experienced clinical development team and AI-enabled capabilities provide the ideal environment to translate this compound’s scientific potential into meaningful patient impact,” Lynk CEO Zhao-Kui (ZK) Wan, Ph.D., said in the release. Before taking the helm of Lynk in 2018, Wan was the head of chemistry for Johnson & Johnson and served at Pfizer for nearly 13 years before that.
