Bridge Biotherapeutics and HitGen Initiate Research Collaboration to Advance Novel Cancer Therapeutics Program Release Time：2024-08-22

• Bridge Biotherapeutics Enters into a joint research agreement with the Chinese drug discovery platform company “HitGen” to accelerate the discovery of new drug candidates for a FIC novel cancer therapeutics program

• Aims to strengthen its oncology portfolio with a novel drug candidate for newly identified hits from HitGen’s proprietary DEL that are expected to exhibit potent anticancer activity

CHENGDU, China, August 22, 2024 – Bridge Biotherapeutics ("Bridge", KQ288330), a clinical-stage biotech company, announced that it has entered into a joint research agreement with HitGen Inc. ("HitGen", SSE: 688222.SH), 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. 

About Bridge Biotherapeutics, Inc.

Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc., based in the Republic of Korea and the U.S., is a publicly traded, clinical-stage biotech company founded in 2015. Bridge Biotherapeutics is engaged in the discovery and development of novel therapeutics, focusing on therapeutic areas with high unmet needs, including fibrotic diseases and cancers. The company is developing BBT-877, a novel autotaxin inhibitor for the treatment of fibrotic diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and BBT-207, a potent targeted cancer therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR C797S mutations. Learn more at https://www.bridgebiorx.com/en/.

About HitGen Inc.

HitGen Inc. (SSE: 688222.SH), is a drug discovery research company with headquarters in Chengdu, China, and subsidiaries in Cambridge, UK and Houston, USA. HitGen has established leading technology platforms to enable the discovery and optimization of small molecules and nucleic acid drugs. Our key technology platforms include world-leading DNA-encoded library technology (DEL), fragment-based drug discovery and structure-based drug design technologies (FBDD/SBDD), as well as the emerging technology platforms for synthetic therapeutic oligonucleotide technology (STO), and targeted protein degradation technology (TPD). Through our diverse and flexible business models, we have built up collaboration partnership with several hundred biopharmaceutical research organizations worldwide. HitGen has multiple programmes from early discovery to clinical trial stage. For more information about HitGen, please visit www.hitgen.com.