Bixink Therapeutics is accelerating efforts to build a diverse digital therapeutics (DTx) portfolio by clinching a series of DTx deals. Bixink is a biotech subsidiary of KPS Corp.

On Tuesday, Bixink said it signed an agreement with LimbixHealth, a U.S. company, for the exclusive local development and commercialization of SparkRx, a DTx developed by Limbix to treat depression in teens and young adults. 

Limbix owns Limbix Synapse Platform, a DTx to treat mental illness in adolescents. 

SparkRx is a DTx based on cognitive behavior therapy. Limbix completed an exploratory clinical trial of the treatment in people aged between 13 and 21. Based on the safety and efficacy data, the company received FDA’s emergency use authorization in 2021. The approval was part of the FDA’s policies to help treat mental disorders during the Covid-19 pandemic. Limbix plans to begin a confirmatory trial and hopes to apply for FDA approval late this year. 

Bixink is also a strategic investor for Limbix, participating in Series A funding in 2020 and Series A2 in 2021. Kim Sung-chul, chief strategy officer of Bixink, is also a board member of Limbix. 

Bixink is conducting a U.S. trial of OC Free, a DTx to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Recently, the company also introduced two DTx for the mental health of cancer patients – attune and DreAMLand. 

Han Mi-kyeong, CEO of Bixink Therapeutics, said she was pleased to provide a DTx for Korean adolescents with depression through the agreement with Limbix. 

Given the characteristics of teenagers, the product will help overcome the limitation of face-to-face or medication treatment, she said. 

Benjamin Lewis, CEO of Limbix, said it was meaningful that the company could help the mental health of Korean pediatric patients through the agreement with Bixink.