BELITE BIO, INC

BELITE BIO, INC is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical drug development company focused on advancing novel therapeutics for degenerative retinal diseases with significant unmet medical needs. The company's primary focus areas are Geographic Atrophy (GA), the late atrophic ("dry") form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and Stargardt disease type 1 (STGD1). Both GA and STGD1 lead to progressive vision loss and permanent blindness in almost all cases. BELITE BIO's lead product candidate is tinlarebant (also known as LBS-008). Tinlarebant is an orally administered, once-a-day tablet designed for early intervention to maintain the health and integrity of retinal tissues in STGD1 and GA patients. Currently, there are no FDA-approved treatments for STGD1 and no approved orally administered treatments for GA. Tinlarebant aims to address this unmet medical need. The drug works by reducing the accumulation of bisretinoid toxins, which are implicated in the progression of retinal disease in both STGD1 and GA. Bisretinoids are derived from circulating retinol, and tinlarebant, developed from the company's RBP4 intellectual property portfolio, is a potent and reversible RBP4 antagonist. By antagonizing serum retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), the sole carrier protein for retinol delivery to the eye, tinlarebant reduces retinol entry into the visual cycle, thereby decreasing bisretinoid toxin formation and preserving retinal health. In addition to tinlarebant, BELITE BIO's drug development pipeline includes LBS-009, a small molecule, orally administered compound. LBS-009 is intended for the treatment of metabolic diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and gout.