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HitGen Partner BioAge Labs Initiates Phase 1 Clinical Study of BGE-102, a Novel Brain-Penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor
BGE-102, an orally available, brain-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor, was developed from a hit compound identified using HitGen's industry-leading DEL technology
About this update from Bioage Labs, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"BGE-102, an orally available, brain-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor, was developed from a hit compound identified using HitGen's industry-leading DEL technology platform, highlighting the value of DEL to accelerate innovative drug development.The initiation of the BGE-102 Phase 1 clinical study triggers a milestone payment to HitGen.CHENGDU, China, Sept. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Shanghai Stock Exchange listed company HitGen Inc. (\"HitGen\", SSE: 688222.SH), congratulates its partner BioAge Labs, Inc. (\"BioAge\", NASDAQ: BIOA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Emeryville, CA, USA, on the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study of BGE-102, a novel, potent NLRP3 inhibitor developed from a hit compound identified using HitGen's industry-leading DEL technology platform. The event triggers an undisclosed milestone payment to HitGen under the collaboration agreement between the two companies.\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nBGE-102 is a structurally novel, orally available small molecule NLRP3 inhibitor with high potency and brain penetration being developed initially for the treatment of obesity. NLRP3 is a key driver of age-related inflammation that has been implicated in a broad range of diseases, including neurodegenerative conditions and cardiovascular disease as well as metabolic disorders such as obesity. BioAge identified NLRP3 as a therapeutic target for metabolic and age-related diseases and sought to develop novel inhibitors, leading to the successful collaboration with HitGen.\nBGE-102 was developed by BioAge from hit compounds identified in a screen using HitGen's DEL libraries under a collaboration agreement between the parties. In April 2021, the companies announced the successful identification of promising hit molecules. In February 2024, the companies further detailed their research collaboration outcome in a joint publication in Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, entitled \"The discovery of novel and potent indazole NLRP3 inhibitors enabled by DNA-encoded library screening\". The collaboration has also resulted in joint patent filings covering the structurally novel compounds discovered through the DEL screening process. BioAge and HitGen continue to collaborate on additional drug lead discovery programs for other novel targets using HitGen's DEL platform.\nDr. Jin Li, Chairman of the Board and Chief Execu...