Looking for Ofev follow-up, Boehringer picks up Bridge Biotherapeutics IPF med for 50M Dollars

Nearly five years after lung-scarring med Ofev got the FDA nod, its maker wants to get cracking on a  successor. Boehringer Ingelheim is licensing an autotaxin inhibitor from Bridge Biotherapeutics for 45 million Euros (50 million dollars) upfront. Seongnam, South Korea-based Bridge Biotherapeutics is developing the compound, BBT-877, for fibrosing interstitial lung diseases, in which scarring affects a group of support tissues in the lungs. It’s currently in phase 1 studies and slated to enter phase 2 in the next year. Under the deal, Boehringer and BridgeBio will develop BBT-877 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a rare and fatal disease in which progressive scarring in the lungs makes breathing difficult and prevents the lungs from delivering enough oxygen to the rest of the body. Some patients may receive a lung transplant, but others are too frail for the procedure. Other treatments, such as supplemental oxygen and pulmonary rehabilitation, focus on managing symptoms. There are only two FDA-approved IPF drugs—Boehringer's Ofev and Genentech’s Esbriet. Both work by delaying disease progression, but they do not cure it.