April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Bridge Biotherapeutics, a clinical stage biotech company, said on Aug. 23 it will seek approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin human clinical trials of BBT-877, its drug candidate for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis treatment by the year-end, encouraged by the positive results of its preclinical study.

The company said BBT-877 demonstrated the “best-in-class” potential with strong efficacy in the bleomycin-induced mouse model in comparison with competing compounds. 

“The study indicates that BBT-877 has effectively reduced lung fibrosis as presented by reduction of Ashcroft scores and the deposition of collagen, compared to the other drugs,” the firm said in a statement.

Bridge Biotherapeutics presented the results of BBT-877 preclinical study at the poster session of the IPF Summit 2018, held in San Francisco, California, on Aug. 20.

The drug candidate was discovered by LegoChem Biosciences, which was licensed to Bridge Biotherapeutics for worldwide exclusive rights for further development in 2017.

The biotech said it plans to submit a US investigational new drug application for BBT-877 by the year-end.

‘It was a great opportunity for Bridge Biotherapeutics to present the outstanding preclinical study results on BBT-877 at the IPF Summit 2018. Bridge Biotherapeutics aims to develop BBT-877 as the best-in-class drug for IPF as fast as possible to bring this investigational compound to patients as a new treatment option.” said James Lee, CEO of Bridge Biotherapeutics.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic lung disease of unknown origin with limited treatment options. The global market for the disease generated US$1.62 billion in 2016 and is projected to reach US$3.57 billion by 2023, according to Research and Markets.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)