Bridge Biotherapeutics and HitGen Initiate Research Collaboration to Advance Novel Cancer Therapeutics Program

Bridge Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company, announced that it has entered into a joint research agreement with HitGen Inc., a Chinese drug discovery platform company. This collaboration builds on successful initial hit finding and identification work from HitGen’s DNA-encoded library (DEL), aiming to further develop the novel hits as promising drug candidates for cancer.

Bridge plans to strengthen its existing oncology portfolio, which is centered on EGFR inhibitors for lung cancer treatment, through new anticancer drug candidates targeting undisclosed targets. Over the past year, the company has established its own analytical methods through preliminary research to discover new targeted anticancer drugs that are expected to show high anticancer effects across various cancer types. With the launch of this joint research with HitGen, it is anticipated that the derivation of effective substances, optimization, and securing of lead compounds will progress rapidly within the next year.

HitGen is a world leader in the development of DEL technology and applications to early-stage small molecule drug discovery. Its platform includes over 1.2 trillion small molecules generated by the DEL technology, and the efficiency of the screening process has made it possible for HitGen to enable drug discovery projects for many organizations around the world. The company has made tremendous improvements over the last few years, making it an integrated drug discovery company focusing on DEL, synthetic therapeutic oligonucleotide (STO), targeted protein degradation (TPD), fragment-based drug discovery and structure-based drug design (FBDD/SBDD).

James Lee, CEO of Bridge Biotherapeutics stated, “By collaborating with HitGen, we will accelerate the discovery of new targeted anticancer drugs.” He added, “We will challenge ourselves to develop drugs that can provide anticancer treatment effects even for genetically mutated cancers, which have been difficult to develop until now.”

Dr. Jin Li, Chairman of the Board and CEO of HitGen Inc., expressed, ” We are pleased to collaborate with Bridge Biotherapeutics team in generating novel drug candidates based on the screening platform we possess,” and stated, “We will contribute to the acceleration of new anticancer drug discovery based on the expertise of both companies.”

Bridge Biotherapeutics has initiated the fourth cohort in the Phase 1 clinical trial for its leading candidate drug BBT-207 for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Through this collaboration with HitGen, the company is embarking on the discovery of new anticancer drugs as part of its efforts to strengthen its cancer portfolio.