BridgeBio Awards Grant to Rare Genomics Institute to Help Rare Disease Patients

San Francisco, CA, November 16, 2020.

The Rare Genomics Institute (RG) today announced it has received a grant from BridgeBio Pharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded to discover, create, test and deliver meaningful medicines for patients with genetic diseases and cancers with clear genetic drivers. RG, a non-profit that makes cutting-edge research technologies and experts accessible to rare disease patients, will use the funds to expand its programs supporting rare disease patients. 

“We are thrilled to receive support from BridgeBio, which is a leader in developing drugs designed to help rare disease patients,” said Imran Babar, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of RG. “Additionally, we are excited to collaborate with BridgeBio on an array of projects to help patients who have exhausted all other options.” 

“We are proud to support The Rare Genomics Institute and value its work advocating for rare disease patients and their families,” said David Rintell, head of patient advocacy at BridgeBio. “At BridgeBio, we believe in putting patients first. Our hope is that this collaboration will lead to better outcomes for patients in need.”

One of the programs supported by this grant is RG Patient Research Services (RGPRS), an RG initiative to advance research beyond genome sequencing for some of the most challenging rare diseases, many of which do not yet have defined indications. 

“We recognize that in the majority of cases data sequencing alone will not be actionable for patients,” noted Anita Chacko, Vice President of RG. “Therefore, we are leveraging our broad network of expert biomedical researchers to crowdsource scientific ideas, experiments, and analyses that may lead to a better understanding of rare diseases. We are grateful to have BridgeBio’s support for this important initiative.” 

About Bridge Bio Pharma, Inc

BridgeBio is a team of experienced drug discoverers, developers and innovators working to discover, create, test and deliver life-altering medicines that target well-characterized genetic diseases at their source. 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. BridgeBio’s pipeline of over 20 development programs includes product candidates ranging from early discovery to late-stage development. For more information, visit bridgebio.com.

About the Rare Genomics Institute

Rare Genomics is an international 501(c) 3 non-profit that makes cutting edge research technologies of genome sequencing, physicians and scientists around the world accessible to rare disease patients. Rare Genomics helps families source, design and fund personalized research projects for diseases not otherwise studied helping rare disease patients find hope for a cure. By providing an expert network and an online crowdfunding mechanism Rare Genomics works alongside patients and their families, providing them with the necessary tools, knowledge, and connections so that they can better understand the cause of their disease. For further information on Rare Genomics, please visit http://www.raregenomics.org