BridgeBio Selected for National New Drug Development Project Supporting 'Pulmonary Fibrosis New Drug'

Bridge Biotherapeutics announced on the 5th that its idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) treatment candidate ‘BBT-877’ has been selected as a new support project in the Phase 2 clinical trial category of the 2023 first national new drug development project, and recently signed an agreement. This is the second time the company has been selected for support by the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF), following the non-small cell lung cancer treatment candidate ‘BBT-176’ in 2021.

Bridge Biotherapeutics logo
[Photo by Bridge Biotherapeutics]

BBT-877 is an oral autotaxin inhibitor and the first-in-class drug candidate that selectively inhibits autotaxin, a novel target protein known to be involved in various fibrotic diseases including IPF. Autotaxin is an enzyme that converts lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), a lipid in the blood, into lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), which has physiological activity. LPA binds to intracellular receptors and induces various physiological activities such as sclerosis, tumor formation, and metastasis. BBT-877 is a small molecule compound that selectively inhibits autotaxin, thereby reducing LPA production and preventing inflammation and fibrosis. In a Phase 1 clinical trial conducted in the United States in 2019, it was confirmed that BBT-877 suppressed the concentration of LPA, set as a pharmacodynamic biomarker, by up to 90%.

Bridge Biotherapeutics subsequently received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Phase 2 clinical trial plan (IND) of BBT-877 in July last year and began patient dosing in April, currently conducting the clinical trial. The company plans to explore the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetic effects of BBT-877 in IPF patients at over 50 clinical institutions located in North America, Europe, and Asia. Based on the selection as a support project in the national new drug development project, the company intends to accelerate clinical development.

Lee Sang-yoon, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Bridge Biotherapeutics, said, “As the prevalence of IPF steadily increases, the unmet medical needs for the disease are also growing. With the selection as a support project in the national new drug development project, we have established a foundation to accelerate the development of innovative treatments. We will work closely with patient groups and clinical physicians and make continuous efforts to achieve rapid results in this field, where efforts to develop innovative treatments have been relatively limited.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.