Vancouver, BC - May 27, 2020 - Bold Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced it has executed an option agreement with Hana Pharm Co. Ltd. for exclusive rights to BOLD-100 in South Korea. BOLD-100 is a first-in-class anti-resistance ruthenium-based small molecule drug which selectively inhibits stress-induced upregulation of GRP78 - an important resistance, survival and proliferation pathway common across cancers. Under the terms of the agreement, Bold Therapeutics and Hana Pharm will collaborate on Bold Therapeutics¡¯ upcoming Phase 1b / 2a adaptive trial in gastric, pancreatic, colorectal and bile duct (cholangiocarinoma) cancers - and explore the potential development of BOLD-100 in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
Hana Pharm, founded in 1978, is a publicly listed (KOSPI, 293480), science-led, fully integrated pharmaceutical company that generated annual sales revenue of USD$139 million in 2019. Hana Pharm has a proven track record licensing and developing innovative drug candidates for commercialization in South Korea.
Dr. Younha Lee, CEO of Hana Pharm, stated, ¡°Hana Pharm previously identified oncology as an area of strategic opportunity and is focusing on identifying and licensing novel drugs for oncology indications with significant unmet medical needs. Bold Therapeutics¡¯ BOLD-100 is a first-in-class compound that appears to broadly defeat resistance, a premise supported by a robust combination of nonclinical efficacy and clinical safety data. Therefore, we are thrilled and inspired by the opportunity to collaborate with Bold Therapeutics in the development of BOLD-100 as it moves into proof-of-concept studies and beyond.¡±
¡°I am pleased to partner with Hana Pharm, one of the fastest growing and most successful pharmaceutical companies in South Korea, on the development of BOLD-100. This collaboration allows us to leverage Hana Pharm¡¯s significant oncology development and commercialization expertise in Korea to accelerate development of BOLD-100,¡± responded E. Russell McAllister, CEO of Bold Therapeutics. ¡°Under this collaboration, we expect to both add clinical sites in South Korea to our planned Phase 1b / 2a adaptive trial by early 2021, potentially accelerating enrollment and the resulting timing of interim efficacy data, as well as add triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an indication where Hana Pharm has significant expertise, as a potential development indication - the first of many win-win partnerships.¡±
Jim Pankovich, EVP of Clinical Development at Bold Therapeutics, added, ¡°The quality of clinical data from South Korea is viewed favorably throughout the world. This promising partnership speaks to BOLD-100¡¯s remarkable potential and allows us to generate data in an Asian population earlier than would otherwise have been possible. I look forward to working with our new clinical and regulatory colleagues at Hana Pharm in the coming weeks.¡±
Contact:
Source: Bold Therapeutics, Inc.
Contacts:
E. Russell McAllister, CEO, Bold Therapeutics, Inc.
rm@bold-therapeutics.com
Dr. Young Sun Lee, CBO / GBD (Global BD Division), Hana Pharm Co. Ltd.
yslee@hanaph.co.kr