NovaBridge Biosciences (NASDAQ: NBP) has appointed Srishti Gupta, MD MPP as its new Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2026. Xi-Yong (Sean) Fu, PhD MBA will step down as Chief Executive Officer to pursue other opportunities and will support the company in an advisory capacity during the transition. Dr. Gupta brings over two decades of transformative leadership experience in biopharmaceuticals, global health, and strategy to the clinical-stage company.

Leadership Transition

The Board of Directors of NovaBridge Biosciences approved the leadership change. Fu Wei, Chairman of the Board, expressed confidence in Dr. Gupta's ability to lead the company forward, citing her global commercial experience and expertise in building strategic partnerships. The Board acknowledged the contributions of Dr. Fu as the outgoing CEO.

Strategic Focus

As CEO, Dr. Gupta will prioritize advancing givastomig toward registration and expanding the ophthalmology franchise under Visara. She aims to establish strategic partnerships to maximize the potential of the company’s medicines for patients and shareholders globally. Her immediate focus is on delivering on the promise of identifying and advancing differentiated assets toward registration and global reach.

Background of Dr. Srishti Gupta

Dr. Gupta most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Idorsia Ltd, where she executed a full operational and financial turnaround. She spent 18 years at McKinsey & Company, leading the Global Health Practice for over a decade. Dr. Gupta holds a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, among other degrees.

About NovaBridge Biosciences

NovaBridge Biosciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing innovative medicines for areas of significant unmet need. Its pipeline includes givastomig, a potential first-in-class Claudin 18.2-Targeted Immuno Amplifier, and VIS-101, a dual VEGF-A × ANG-2 inhibitor for retinal vascular diseases. The company collaborates with partners like ABL Bio on ragistomig and holds rights to uliledlimab outside of China.

NovaBridge Biosciences announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation to givastomig for the treatment of previously untreated HER2-negative advanced or metastatic gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas (GEA). The designation applies to patients whose tumors are both Claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2) and PD-L1 positive, and covers the use of givastomig in combination with nivolumab and chemotherapy. This regulatory milestone is intended to accelerate the development and review of the therapy for a serious condition with unmet medical need.

Givastomig is a novel CLDN18.2 x 4-1BB bispecific antibody. Phase 1b data demonstrated compelling efficacy and tolerability for givastomig in combination with immunochemotherapy. The company stated that responses were deep and durable across a broad patient population, showing marked improvement relative to historical benchmarks for the standard of care. The FDA had previously confirmed the therapy's eligibility for the accelerated approval pathway.

Development Timeline and Partnership

The Fast Track Designation facilitates a more efficient path to a registrational Phase 3 trial, which is expected to begin as early as Q4 2026. Additionally, detailed Phase 1b data is expected to be presented at a major medical conference in H2 2026. Givastomig is being jointly developed through a global partnership with ABL Bio, in which NovaBridge is the lead party and shares worldwide rights, excluding Greater China and South Korea, equally with ABL Bio.

Pipeline Overview

NovaBridge's differentiated pipeline is led by givastomig and VIS-101, a dual VEGF-A X ANG-2 inhibitor. VIS-101 has completed a randomized, dose-ranging Phase 2a study for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and expects to initiate a dose-determining Phase 2b study in H2 2026. The company is also collaborating with ABL Bio on ragistomig, a bispecific antibody for solid tumors, and owns worldwide rights outside of China to uliledlimab, an anti-CD73 antibody.