On December 7, 2020 BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBIO) and Maze Therapeutics reported the establishment of a joint venture, Contour Therapeutics, focused on transforming and advancing breakthrough precision medicine approaches designed to treat cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide (Press release, BridgeBio, DEC 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234576219]).

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This joint venture between two leading biotech companies unites Maze’s genetically driven approach to drug discovery, as well as insights from its COMPASS platform, with BridgeBio’s expertise in cardiac drug discovery and clinical development. Together, the companies will focus on advancing genetically validated therapeutic candidates through clinical development and will initially work on the development of a treatment for patients with an undisclosed, genetically defined form of heart failure.

The new partnership builds on exciting progress underway to identify and target genetic causes of cardiovascular diseases, including BridgeBio’s precision medicine approach at its affiliate Eidos Therapeutics designed to treat transthyretin amyloidosis, an underdiagnosed and life-threatening cause of heart failure. The partnership also builds on seminal advances in the treatment of inherited cardiomyopathies, including at MyoKardia, a company co-founded by senior leaders at BridgeBio and Maze.

"Cardiovascular disease is a deadly and widespread health problem across the world, but unfortunately, innovations in new treatment approaches have been limited," said Jason Coloma, Ph.D., CEO of Maze. "Since we launched Maze, we have been focused on the advancement of our COMPASS platform, on which we’ve made important progress and gained confidence in the genetics we are focused on, as well as novel insights into how to best develop therapies for patients with cardiovascular disease. We are excited to join forces with BridgeBio, combining the unique talents and expertise across our respective teams, in order to deliver a profound impact on how these diseases are treated in the future."

"We are privileged to be partnering with and learning from Maze. We are eager to build on BridgeBio’s work in precision medicine to treat cardiovascular disease, and we believe our joint venture with Maze holds great promise for patients as we bring together innovative leaders in cardiology and genetics," said Neil Kumar, Ph.D., founder and CEO of BridgeBio. "The identification and targeting of genetically defined patient populations has created elegant and clinically meaningful medicines in oncology and other therapeutic areas. We feel strongly that one of the next frontiers in precision medicine lies in helping people suffering from cardiovascular disease, and we are excited to be on the front lines of advances in this field."

"This partnership between Maze and BridgeBio will bring together many of the people who helped found and build revolutionary companies in cardiovascular drug development," said Charles Homcy, M.D., chairman of the Maze board of directors and lead director and chairman of pharmaceuticals of BridgeBio. "With the combined expertise of these teams, we have an opportunity to create something special that has a profound impact on how patients with cardiovascular disease are treated in the future."

About the Maze COMPASS Platform
The Maze COMPASS platform combines human genetics, functional genomics and data science to identify and prioritize drug targets for both rare and common diseases, validate drug targets and inform target tractability and clinical development. Maze aims to leverage COMPASS to translate a wealth of genetic opportunities generated by the platform into new therapeutics.