GENFIT a biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of developing therapeutic and diagnostic solutions in metabolic and inflammatory diseases, that notably affect the liver or the gastrointestinal system, today announced that the FDA has cleared the IND to proceed with the Phase II trial aimed at evaluating elafibranor in PBC.
As previously announced, this trial is designed to be a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of elafibranor after 12 weeks of treatment in patients with PBC and inadequate response to ursodeoxycholic acid.
The primary objective is to determine the effect of daily oral administration of elafibranor on serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in these patients, based on relative change versus placebo.
Secondary endpoints will include:
- ALP < 1.67 × upper limit of normal (ULN) and total bilirubin within normal limit and > 15% decrease in ALP
- Paris, Toronto, UK PBC scores
- Pruritus and QoL (Quality of Life)
- Safety of elafibranor in a PBC population
PBC is a rare disease with unmet need. Current treatments only cure a fraction of the patient population, and/or generate important side effects such as pruritus, which is a major and well-known symptom already affecting most PBC patients.
Jean-François Mouney, CEO, Co-founder, and Chairman of the board of GENFIT commented: “We are satisfied with the progress made on the regulatory side in PBC. Our presence in this field is highly relevant given the profile of elafibranor, our proprietary molecule. We soon hope to be able to provide patients with a new, safe and well-tolerated therapeutic solution. Our involvement in PBC will continue to enrich our medical network thanks to our broad discussions and interactions we have with hepatologists. We value and cultivate a high level of collaboration with the medical community as it’s a way for us to ensure that the best decisions are made to address unmet medical needs in this field.”
About elafibranor:
Elafibranor is GENFIT’s lead pipeline product. Elafibranor is an oral once-daily treatment, and a first-in-class drug acting via dual peroxisome proliferator-activated alpha/delta pathways developed to treat, in particular, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Elafibranor is believed to address multiple facets of NASH, including inflammation, insulin sensitivity, lipid/metabolic profile, and liver markers. The drug will also be evaluated in Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC).
About PBC:
“PBC” or Primary Biliary Cholangitis, is a chronic disease in which bile ducts in the liver are gradually destroyed. The damage to bile ducts can inhibit the liver’s ability to rid the body of toxins, and can lead to scarring of liver tissue known as cirrhosis.
About GENFIT:
GENFIT is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of drug candidates in areas of high unmet medical needs corresponding to a lack of suitable treatment and an increasing number of patients worldwide. GENFIT’s R&D efforts are focused on bringing new medicines to market for patients with metabolic, inflammatory, autoimmune and fibrotic diseases, that affect the liver (such as NASH – Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) and more generally the gastro-intestinal arena. GENFIT’s approach combines novel treatments and biomarkers. Its lead proprietary compound, elafibranor, is currently in a Phase 3 study. With facilities in Lille and Paris, France, and Cambridge, MA (USA), the Company has approximately 110 employees. GENFIT is a public company listed in compartment B of Euronext’s regulated market in Paris (Euronext: GNFT – ISIN: FR0004163111). www.genfit.com
