On July 27, 2022 BridGene Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company leveraging a proprietary chemoproteomic platform to discover and develop small-molecule drugs for high-value, traditionally undruggable targets, reported the completion of a $38.5 million Series B financing by Lapam Capital, Junson Capital and Dyee Capital (Press release, Bridgene Biosciences, JUL 27, 2022, View Source [SID1234616998]).
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Proceeds from the offering will be used to further develop BridGene’s chemoproteomic platform IMTAC, which enables the screening of small molecules against the whole proteome or against a prioritized target in live cells to discover drug candidates for high value and traditionally undruggable targets that drive diseases, including cancers.
The unique advantage of IMTAC is that it can efficiently identify hits for two major types of traditionally undruggable targets. By using covalent small molecules, BridGene can identify hits for targets with shallow binding pockets. BridGene can also identify hits via live cell screening for targets with temporary binding pockets that only form in live cells such as protein: protein interactions. This brings unprecedented opportunities for the development of small-molecule drugs for traditionally undruggable targets.
The proceeds will also be used to develop BridGene’s leading pipeline project, a covalent TEAD inhibitor, as well as a few other undisclosed first-in-class oncology pipeline projects, which were initiated based on discoveries using the IMTAC platform.
"This financing, along with our collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical announced last year, significantly strengthens our resources to discover breakthrough medicines for patients," said Ping Cao, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of BridGene. "Our pioneering work has expanded the scope of chemoproteomics technology from screening just covalent small molecules to also screening non-covalent small molecules, and from targeting just cysteine to targeting multiple amino acids. Our technology uniquely enables us to discover small-molecule drugs for traditionally undruggable targets with unparalleled speed and efficiency. It also enables us to build a pipeline with first-in-class drugs targeting well-known high-value and traditionally undruggable targets. Our long-term goal is to find small-molecule drugs for the most important targets in the proteome."
"BridGene’s chemoproteomics platform IMTAC is impressive and unique. It breaks the limitations of traditional chemoproteomics technology and greatly expands its scope. BridGene has established an outstanding scientific team, which has extensive experience in chemoproteomic technology and drug development. We believe that BridGene has the potential to grow to a leading company in the field of drugging traditionally undruggable targets," said Mr. Zhihua Yu, Chairman of Lapam Capital.