IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) is a complex disease characterized by chronic or recurring inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. IBD is distinguished as either UC (Ulcerative Colitis) or CD (Crohn’s Disease) and requires a lifetime treatment as they are chronic upon first occurrence. ​

Approximately one-third of IBD patients’ disease severity will escalate from being moderate to severe within 10 years and 10~15% of them undergo a colectomy.

Global IBD patient population was 4.86 million in 2016, 30% of which was from the United States (1.40 million). On the other hand, Korea’s IBD population is rapidly increasing. According to Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, IBD patient population in Korea increased sharply by 33% from 49,593 patients in 2014 to 66,267 patients in 2018.

There are currently no effective treatment for curing IBD due to lack of efficacy, intolerable adverse effects, and higher costs. Therefore, IBD remains to be an area with huge unmet medical needs.

HX204 was discovered by screening dozens of natural products that are traditionally known to improve bowel diseases. Selected products showed its effectiveness in improving tight junction and mucus secretion within the bowel along with remarkable anti-inflammatory effect.

HX204 is currently under pre-clinical development and is expected to enter clinical phase in 2022.