Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biotech company headquartered in Seongnam, South Korea, announced that the company presented the preclinical and the Phase I study results for BBT-401, a drug candidate for Ulcerative Colitis (UC) treatment, at the poster session of the Crohn's & Colitis Congress held in Las Vegas, NV from February 7th to 9th.

The congress, which is based on a partnership between the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation and the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), brings healthcare professionals, academics and the pharma/bio industry across the globe for better Inflammatory Bowl Diseases (IBD) treatments and patient care.

BBT-401, a potent first-in-class drug candidate as Pellino-1 inhibitor, demonstrated superior anti-UC efficacy compared to other therapies in the preclinical studies, which includes improved clinical symptoms and reduced gross and histo-pathology scores.

In addition, the Phase I clinical study data indicate that BBT-401 is safe and well tolerated in the healthy volunteers as the drug candidate has not been systemically exposed after oral administrations. It strongly suggests that BBT-401 will exclusively act on damaged intestinal membranes of UC patients, which will lead to the development of an efficient UC therapeutics.

The drug candidate is currently under the Phase 2 clinical study for UC patients in the U.S. The first cohort is open for enrollment with a targeted completion by the end of the year. The dosing regimens of the second and the third cohorts will be determined based on the results of preceding cohorts.

BBT-401, discovered by SKKU (Sungkyunkwan University) and KRICT (Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology) is a GI-tract restricted small molecule inhibitor of Pellino-1. Bridge Biotherapeutics and Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a Korean pharmaceutical giant, have recently signed a license agreement for co-development of BBT-401.