# BridGene Biosciences

> BridGene Biosciences is a San Jose biotechnology company using live-cell chemoproteomics, quantitative mass spectrometry and a paired library of more than 10,000 covalent small molecules to find footholds on proteins conventional screens struggle to reach. Its IMTAC platform supplies discovery work to pharmaceutical partners and has produced an internal pipeline led by BGC-515, a TEAD inhibitor in a Phase 1 trial for advanced solid tumors.

- **Founded:** 2018
- **Headquarters:** San Jose, United States
- **Founders:** Ping Cao (Co-Founder and CEO), Irene Yuan (Co-Founder and COO)
- **Products:** IMTAC Live-Cell Proteome-Wide Screening, IMTAC Target-Focused Screening, AI and Physics-Powered Covalent Virtual Screening, BGC-515, Covalent FGFR3 and PAX8 programs
- **Notable:** Built a paired library of more than 10,000 covalent small molecules designed for target capture and competition experiments., Reported covalent ligands for more than 5,000 targets across the human proteome., Advanced BGC-515 from an IMTAC-derived TEAD program into a Phase 1 clinical study that began dosing in June 2024.

## Products & services

- **IMTAC Live-Cell Proteome-Wide Screening** — Chemoproteomic screening that exposes living cells to tagged covalent probes, enriches bound proteins and uses quantitative mass spectrometry to identify interactions and ligandable sites across the proteome.
- **IMTAC Target-Focused Screening** — Partner-facing campaigns against selected targets using a library of more than 10,000 drug-like covalent molecules; BridGene says validated hits with binding sites and early structure-activity relationships can be delivered in four to six months.
- **AI and Physics-Powered Covalent Virtual Screening** — A computational workflow combining virtual compound generation, covalent protein co-folding and physics-based docking with flexible amino-acid modeling.
- **BGC-515** — An investigational oral covalent TEAD inhibitor in a Phase 1 study for advanced solid tumors, including mesothelioma and epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.
- **Covalent FGFR3 and PAX8 programs** — Preclinical oncology programs disclosed in 2025 conference abstracts, including a selective FGFR3 inhibitor and BGP-31609, a mechanistically validated PAX8-binding hit being optimized for potency, selectivity and drug-like properties.

## Achievements

- Built a paired library of more than 10,000 covalent small molecules designed for target capture and competition experiments.
- Reported covalent ligands for more than 5,000 targets across the human proteome.
- Advanced BGC-515 from an IMTAC-derived TEAD program into a Phase 1 clinical study that began dosing in June 2024.
- Reached a preclinical milestone in its original Takeda neurodegeneration collaboration.
- Presented 2025 conference abstracts covering FGFR3, PAX8 and proteome-wide ligandability across GPCRs, phosphatases and other target classes.
- Secured major discovery collaborations with Takeda and Galapagos whose disclosed potential milestone values exceed $1.4 billion in aggregate, contingent on success.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — CEO Ping Cao said BGC-515 had become the clinical validation of BridGene's platform and identified proving repeatability beyond one clinical success as the next challenge.
- **2026-01** — BridGene appointed Nobel laureate Bruce A. Beutler to its scientific advisory board.
- **2025-10** — The company announced a $28 million Series B+ financing to advance BGC-515 toward Phase 2 and support another program targeted for the clinic in 2027.
- **2025-10** — Three AACR-NCI-EORTC presentations disclosed a selective covalent FGFR3 inhibitor, a PAX8-binding program and broader IMTAC ligandability data.
- **2025-02** — Takeda signed a new multi-target immunology and neurology collaboration carrying $46 million in combined upfront and potential preclinical payments and up to approximately $770 million in later milestones.
- **2024-06** — The first patient was dosed in the Phase 1 BGC-515 study; the registered trial plans dose escalation and expansion in advanced solid tumors.

## Links

- Website: https://www.bridgenebio.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bridgene-biosciences

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Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-28