A Dose Escalating Study of HC002 in Healthy Adult Volunteers

This is a first-in-human (FIH) study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of single and multiple ascending oral doses of HC002 in healthy adult participants.

This is a single center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-part study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and PK of single (Part 1) and multiple (Part 2) oral doses of HC002.

The study will enroll approximately 64 participants across 2 parts. In Part 1 (SAD), there will be 5 cohorts and in Part 2 (MAD), there will be 3 cohorts. In Part 1, a single dose of HC002 or placebo will be administered on Day 1. In Part 2, multiple doses of HC002 or placebo will be administered once daily (QD) from Day 1 to Day 7.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

1. Male and female participants of 18 to 65 years of age (inclusive)
2. Able to read, understand, sign, and date a written informed consent form (ICF) before study participation at Screening
3. Male participants must agree to use accepted contraceptive regimens during the study and for a period after the last drug administration.
4. Female participants must not be pregnant, intending to become pregnant, or be lactating at any time during the study, and must agree to use accepted contraceptive regimens during the study and for a period after the last drug administration.
5. Body mass index (BMI) between 18.0 and 35.0 kg/m2 (inclusive) at screening and body weight ≥ 50 kg.
6. Judged to be in good health on the basis of medical history, physical examination, and routine laboratory measurements (i.e., without clinically relevant pathology).
7. No clinically significant findings on electrocardiogram (ECG) (12-lead), arterial blood pressure, or heart rate as determined at the discretion of the Investigator.
8. Non-smoker, ex-smoker (being defined as persons who completely stopped smoking cigarettes for at least 6 months), or social smoker (being defined as persons who smoke fewer than the equivalent of 10 nicotine containing products per month).
9. Able to understand and comply with protocol requirements and instructions and likely to complete the study as planned at Screening and upon admission as per PI's judgement.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. History of any illness or condition that, in the opinion of the Investigator, might confound the results of the study or pose an additional risk in administering study drug to the participant.
2. Cholecystectomy and/or surgery of the gastrointestinal tract that could interfere with PK of the study drug (except appendectomy, hemorrhoidectomy and simple hernia repair).
3. Regular treatment with prescription or nonprescription medications which, at the discretion of the Investigator, may impact either participant safety during the trial or the study objectives. The continued use of prescribed hormonal contraceptives is permitted, provided use has been stable for 3 months.
4. Consumption of herbal medications, dietary supplements, and specific fruit products (ie, pomello, Seville orange, and grapefruit).
5. History of drug addiction within 2 years before the start of study drug dosing, or a positive test result for drugs of abuse, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, opiates, methadone, methamphetamines, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and phencyclidine (PCP).
6. History of alcohol addiction within 2 years before the start of study drug dosing, positive test for alcohol, or engages in regular consumption of more than 4 units of alcoholic beverages per day or more than 10 units per week (1 unit of alcohol is equivalent to approximately 1 pint \[473 mL\] of beer or lager, 1 glass \[125 mL\] of wine, or 25 mL shot of 40% spirit) before Screening.
7. Participation in a clinical study involving administration of either an investigational or a marketed drug within 30 days, 5 half-lives, or until the expected pharmacodynamic effect has returned to Baseline (whichever is longer) before Screening.
8. Blood donation or a significant loss of blood within 60 days of the start of study drug dosing or donation of more than 1 unit of plasma within 7 days before Screening.
9. Positive result at Screening for any of the following infectious disease tests: hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1/-2).
10. Illness within 5 days before the start of study drug dosing ("illness" is defined as an acute \[serious or non-serious\] condition \[e.g., the flu or the common cold\]).
11. History of any known relevant allergy/hypersensitivity (including allergy to the study drug or its excipients).
12. Suicidal tendency, history of or disposition to seizures, state of confusion, and/or a diagnosis with a clinically relevant psychiatric disease.
13. Use of immunotherapy within 3 months prior to Screening.
14. Abnormal liver function (ALT \> 1.5-times upper limit of normal (ULN) or bilirubin \> 1.5-times ULN).
15. Prescence of out-of-range cardiac interval (HR 45 to 100 beats per minute, PR 120 to 220 msec, QRS \< 120 msec, and QTcB ≤ 470 msec \[female\] or ≤ 450 msec \[male\]) on the Screening ECG or other clinically significant ECG abnormalities as determined by the Investigator.