LG Chem said that it has licensed in TT-01025, a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) treatment candidate, from China’s TransThera Biosciences.

LG Chem has licensed in a NASH treatment candidate from China’s TransThera Biosciences. (LG Chem)

Under the accord, LG Chem will secure exclusive global development and patent rights for the candidate in North America and Europe. At the same time, TransThera Biosciences can receive up to $350 million, including down payments and milestones for each clinical stage of the drug and commercialization.

TransThera Biosciences is a Nanjing-based biotechnology company that focuses on developing new drugs for cancer, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. The firm is developing a NASH treatment targeting VAP-1 protein, a protein associated with the progression of inflammation in the liver.

"After examining the global development trend of NASH, we have concluded that TransThera Biosciences' new drug pipeline has global competitiveness in efficacy, safety and clinical entry rate," the company said. "LG Chem plans to complete the preclinical trial within this year and conduct phase 1 clinical trial in the U.S. in the first quarter of next year."

The deal marks the second NASH treatment candidate that LG Chem has licensed in. The company had inked a contract with Sprint Bioscience, a U.S. firm, to cooperate on developing new drugs for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and metabolic diseases.

LG Chem plans to develop new drugs that can produce complementary therapeutic effects by securing several NASH drug pipelines with different action mechanisms, including a self-developed preclinical new drug pipeline.

"To treat NASH, it is most important to secure a new drug pipeline with various mechanisms of action in consideration of complex causes such as fat accumulation, inflammatory reaction, and fibrosis," said Son Jee-woong, head of LG Chem's life science business division. "The introduction of TT-01025 will speed up developing new drugs to treat NASH."

TransThera Biosciences CEO Frank Wu said, "TT-01025 is expected to show excellent results in terms of safety as it features high selective action on the target protein. With LG Chem, we will provide innovative treatments to patients with NASH disease around the world.”

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