Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc., a biotech company headquartered in Seongnam, South Korea, has signed a license agreement with Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for development of BBT-401, the first anti-Pellino-1 compound currently under development for ulcerative colitis (UC) treatment.
 
Under the license and collaboration, the companies will co-develop a new clinical-stage drug candidate for the treatment of patients with UC. Bridge Biotherapeutics will receive as much as $40 million for an upfront and milestone payments during development and commercialization. Daewoong will acquire the exclusive right for the development and commercialization of BBT-401 in 22 Asian countries, including China, Japan and Korea. 

BBT-401 is a GI-tract restricted small molecule inhibitor of Pellino-1. A Phase I study showed the drug candidate proved to be well tolerated and safe. Bridge Biotherapeutics plans to initiate the Phase II study to evaluate the safety and investigate the efficacy of the drug candidate in selected groups of patients.
 
"Our team is excited to begin a valuable collaboration with Daewoong, a South Korean pharmaceutical giant, which has a rich experience in developing and manufacturing drugs for digestive system disorders," and "We strongly believe the cooperation and the alliance will advance BBT-401's fast development, which will better address UC patients' unmet medical needs," said James Lee, chief executive officer of Bridge Biotherapeutics. 
 
"Daewoong Pharmaceutical now plans to develop a first-in-class drug for severe and currently untreatable inflammatory disease treatment, such as UC, with the in-licensing and co-development agreement with Bridge Biotherapeutics," and "Daewoong will continue to pursue open-collaboration relationships with local and international companies for new drug developments," Sengho Jeon, chief executive officer of Daewoong Pharmaceutical said.

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