Gannex's Strategic Partner Sagimet Biosciences Announces Positive Topline Results from Phase 2b FASCINATE-2 Clinical Trial of Denifanstat in Biopsy-Confirmed F2/F3 NASH

PR Newswire
4 min read

In This Article:

Denifanstat achieved statistically significant results on primary and multiple secondary endpoints in a 52-week clinical trial of 168 NASH patients with stage 2 or 3 fibrosis

-  Primary efficacy endpoints:

  • NASH resolution without worsening of fibrosis with ≥2-point reduction in NAS (NAFLD Activity Score) in 36% of denifanstat-treated patients vs 13% with placebo (p=0.002)

  • ≥2-point reduction in NAS without worsening of fibrosis in 52% of denifanstat-treated patients vs 20% with placebo (p=0.0001)

Denifanstat was generally well-tolerated

Gannex Pharma Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ascletis, holds the rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize denifanstat (ASC40) in Greater China under an exclusive license agreement with Sagimet Biosciences Inc.

SHANGHAI, Jan. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Gannex Pharma Company Ltd ("Gannex"), a wholly-owned company of Ascletis Pharma Inc. (Ascletis, HKEX:1672), announced that its strategic partner, Sagimet Biosciences Inc. (Sagimet, Nasdaq: SGMT), today reported positive topline results from Sagimet's FASCINATE-2 Phase 2b clinical trial of denifanstat versus placebo in biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients with stage 2 or stage 3 fibrosis (F2/F3) at week 52. In this trial, denifanstat, an oral, selective FASN inhibitor, showed statistically significant improvements relative to placebo on both of the primary endpoints of NASH resolution without worsening of fibrosis with ≥2-point reduction in NAS, and ≥2-point reduction in NAS without worsening of fibrosis. Denifanstat-treated patients also showed statistically significant fibrosis improvement by ≥ 1 stage with no worsening of NASH, and a greater proportion of MRI-derived proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) ≥30% responders relative to placebo.

Gannex holds the rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize denifanstat in Greater China (where it is referred to as ASC40) under an exclusive license agreement with Sagimet. The press release announcing positive topline results from the Phase 2b FASCINATE-2 clinical trial can be found HERE and topline results from the trial can be found below.

Phase 2b FASCINATE-2 Topline Results

Statistical Significance Achieved in Primary Endpoints and Improvements Across Other Endpoints at Week 52 of Denifanstat Treatment

Denifanstat
50 mg (n=81)

Placebo
(n=45)

P-value vs
placebo

Primary Endpoints




NASH resolution without worsening of fibrosis with ≥2-point reduction in NAS

36 %

13 %

0.002

≥ 2-point decrease in NAS without worsening of fibrosis

52 %

20 %

0.0001

Other Endpoints




Improvement of fibrosis by ≥ 1 stage with no worsening of NASH

41 %

18 %

0.005

NASH resolution with no worsening of fibrosis

38 %

16 %

0.002

AI digital pathology (qFibrosis)*

-0.3

0.1

0.002

ALT % change from baseline

-30.5 %

-17.2 %

0.03

MRI-PDFF responder rate**

65 %

21 %

<0.0001

FibroScan AST (FAST) score

-0.3

-0.1

<0.0001

LDL cholesterol (mg/dL)***

-19.1

-9.1

--

Modified intent-to-treat population (mITT) includes all patients with paired biopsies; includes Secondary Endpoints for which analysis has been completed as of the date of this press release.
* Artificial Intelligence (AI) digital pathology assessed by second harmonic generation (SHG, HistoIndex)
** MRI-PDFF responders are patients with ≥30% relative reduction of liver fat at the end of treatment
*** Baseline LDL-C greater than 100 mg/dL; exploratory analysis shown for n=32 and n=27 denifanstat and placebo patients, respectively

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