• NovaBridge subsidiary Visara assigned its exclusive license to Everest Medicines to accelerate the development of potential best-in-class therapy for wet AMD, VIS-101, leveraging Everest Medicines' strong clinical and commercialization expertise in Greater China and other Asian markets
• NovaBridge also named Mr. Ian Woo, President and Chief Financial Officer of Everest Medicines, to its Board of Directors, bringing substantial expertise in international biopharma finance, operations and management
• VIS-101 is a novel bifunctional biologic targeting VEGF-A/ANG2, with potential to provide more effective and durable treatment than the current standard of care for patients with wet AMD, DME and RVO. The program is completing a Phase 2 study in China and is expected to be Phase-3-ready in 2026

NovaBridge Biosciences (Nasdaq: NBP) (NovaBridge or the Company) a global biotechnology platform company committed to accelerating access to innovative medicines,  announced that its subsidiary Visara, Inc. (Visara) has assigned it exclusive license agreement to Everest Medicines (HKEX: 1952) for the development, manufacture and commercialization of VIS-101, a novel bifunctional biologic targeting VEGF-A and ANG-2, in Greater China, and certain other Asian countries In addition, NovaBridge has appointed Mr. Ian Woo to its Board of Directors (the Board).

"This Agreement with Everest Medicines is an excellent fit with NovaBridge's focus on collaborating with global innovators to accelerate the development of novel medicines such as VIS-101," said Sean Fu, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of NovaBridge. "In addition, I believe Ian's extensive track record in strategic transactions, operations and management will be a valuable asset to NovaBridge as we work to accelerate the global development of transformative medicines and create value for patients and investors."

"Everest Medicines' clinical and commercial expertise could enable us to accelerate the development and bring VIS-101 to patients across Asia sooner," said Emmett T. Cunningham, Jr. MD, PhD, MPH, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Visara. "With its unique potency and potential to provide more durable treatment benefits, we believe VIS-101 has a robust opportunity to be a second-in-class with best-in-class potential treatment for patients around the world with wet AMD, DME and RVO." 

"Partnering with Visara brings a highly differentiated and commercially attractive asset to Everest's late-stage pipeline and paves the way for our entry into the ophthalmology market, an area of significant unmet need," said Ian Woo, President and Chief Financial Officer of Everest Medicines. "We are pleased to leverage our core clinical development and commercialization expertise to advance VIS-101 in Greater China and across Asia." 

As previously reported, through an assignment agreement with AffaMed and a direct license with AskGene, Visara acquired exclusive rights for VIS-101 globally. Visara has assigned its direct license with AskGene to Everest Medicines to develop, manufacturing and commercialize VIS-101 in Greater China, Singapore, South Korea, and certain Southeast Asian countries.  Everest will assume all payment obligations under the assigned license agreement and reimburse Visara any upfront payment it has already made.