Trially AI Raises $4.7M to Launch Margo, Solving Clinical Trial Recruitment Bottleneck with Agentic AI Solution

Trially, an AI-first clinical trial recruitment platform, has secured $4.7 million in funding and launched Margo, its agentic AI solution to multiply trial enrollment. Margo converts patient matches into participants, addressing the bottleneck in clinical trial recruitment. The platform has improved patient matching, reduced screen failures, and increased revenue for clinical trial sites. The seed round was led by Flyover Capital with participation from other investors.

CHENGDU, China, September 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Shanghai Stock Exchange-listed company HitGen Inc. ("HitGen", SSE: 688222.SH) announced today that its partner BioAge Labs, Inc. ("BioAge", NASDAQ: BIOA) has initiated a Phase 1 clinical study of BGE-102, a novel brain-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor. The study marks a significant milestone for both companies, as it validates the power of HitGen's DEL (DNA-encoded library) technology platform in drug discovery.

BGE-102, an orally available small molecule, was developed from a hit compound identified using HitGen's DEL technology. The inhibitor targets NLRP3, a key driver of age-related inflammation implicated in various diseases, including obesity, neurodegenerative conditions, and cardiovascular disease. BioAge identified NLRP3 as a therapeutic target for metabolic and age-related diseases, leading to the successful collaboration with HitGen.

The initiation of the Phase 1 clinical study triggers an undisclosed milestone payment to HitGen under their collaboration agreement. Dr. Jin Li, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of HitGen Inc., stated, "We extend our congratulations to the BioAge team on this exciting progress. The advancement of BGE-102 into clinical studies not only validates the power of HitGen's DEL platform to discover novel small molecules against challenging targets but also reinforces the value of our partnership model."

Kristen Fortney, PhD, CEO and co-founder of BioAge, expressed excitement about reaching this clinical milestone. "HitGen's DEL platform helped us identify structurally distinct NLRP3 inhibitors with a novel binding site and strong potency and brain penetration. Our collaboration demonstrates the value of combining HitGen's cutting-edge screening technology with insights from human aging biology to advance potentially transformative treatments for metabolic diseases."

HitGen is a world leader in DEL technology and applications to early-stage small molecule drug discovery. Its platform includes over 1.2 trillion small molecules, enabling efficient screening processes. BioAge Labs is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic product candidates for metabolic diseases by targeting the biology of human aging.