Hangzhou, Shanghai, and BostonJune 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Link Pharma (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Link Pharma”), a clinical-stage innovative drug research and development company focused on immune and inflammatory diseases, announced that its self-developed Class 1 innovative drug LNK01004 Ointment has received approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to conduct Phase II clinical studies for the treatment of vitiligo and chronic hand eczema.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disease clinically characterized by hypopigmented macules and/or depigmented patches. Lesions on exposed or special areas often impose a severe psychological burden on patients, reducing their quality of life. Current treatment for vitiligo focuses on halting disease progression, promoting repigmentation, and preventing recurrence, yet no effective therapy has been found to completely cure vitiligo to date.
Chronic hand eczema is a common and easily recurrent chronic inflammatory skin disease. Its clinical manifestations include erythema, blisters, desquamation, and itching. Severe cases may be accompanied by pain and impaired hand function, significantly affecting patients’ daily life, work ability, and quality of life. Currently, treatment options for moderate-to-severe or persistent chronic hand eczema remain relatively limited, with substantial unmet clinical needs.
LNK01004 Ointment is a potential first-in-class third-generation soft pan-JAK inhibitor that can simultaneously regulate multiple inflammatory cytokine-related signaling pathways. Unlike traditional JAK inhibitors, LNK01004 Ointment is designed with low systemic exposure and skin-restricted distribution, aiming to achieve an optimal balance between pan-JAK selectivity and restricted drug exposure to provide the best efficacy and safety. The meticulous drug design results in good transdermal permeability, ensuring rapid metabolism and clearance upon entering the bloodstream, with a short plasma half-life and extremely low systemic exposure. Additionally, it exhibits strong tissue selectivity; when administered locally, exposure is primarily limited to skin tissue, making it suitable for long-term patient use. Preclinical studies have demonstrated clear skin-restricted characteristics and good efficacy. It has shown favorable efficacy and safety in Phase II clinical trials for atopic dermatitis in humans.
Dr. Wan Zhaokui, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Link Pharma, stated: “LNK01004 Ointment is one of the company’s core innovative products strategically focused on immune-inflammatory skin diseases. Currently, existing treatment options for vitiligo and chronic hand eczema still face numerous challenges in long-term management. With its differentiated skin-restricted molecular design and multi-inflammatory pathway synergistic regulatory mechanism, LNK01004 has the potential to offer patients a new treatment option. This clinical trial approval for both vitiligo and chronic hand eczema indications not only enriches the company’s pipeline in the field of inflammatory skin diseases but also further validates the broad development potential of LNK01004 in dermatological conditions. We will accelerate subsequent clinical research, striving to bring safer and more effective innovative treatment options to patients as soon as possible.”