Combination treatment of a FASN inhibitor with semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, improved several biomarkers associated with NASH in a mouse model and showed a significant improvement in liver fibrosis, while semaglutide alone did not significantly improve fibrosis
Reductions of circulating lipids associated with cardiovascular risk were observed in denifanstat-treated patients in the FASCINATE-2 Phase 2b clinical trial interim analysis, with numerical separation from placebo at Week 4 and statistically significant responses at Week 13
FASCINATE-2 Phase 2b clinical trial of denifanstat in F2-F3 NASH patients is fully enrolled; on track to report week 52 topline results, including liver biopsy, in the first quarter of 2024
SAN MATEO, Calif., Nov. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sagimet Biosciences Inc. (Sagimet, Nasdaq: SGMT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel fatty acid synthase (FASN) inhibitors that target dysfunctional metabolic pathways, today announced the presentation of preclinical results detailing artificial intelligence (AI) based digital pathology of Sagimet’s FASN inhibitor alone or in combination with semaglutide in a preclinical mouse model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A comprehensive lipidomic analysis from the interim analysis of the FASCINATE-2 Phase 2b clinical trial will also be presented in a late-breaking poster session at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) - The Liver Meeting® 2023 held November 10-14, 2023 in Boston.
“The preclinical combination results underscore the importance of developing disease modifying therapies, such as denifanstat, for NASH patients,” said Marie O’Farrell, Ph.D., Sagimet’s Senior Vice President of Research and Development. “There is a sizeable population of NASH patients with type 2 diabetes. Our data, consistent with published clinical results, suggests that GLP-1 therapy alone is associated with major body weight loss but does not significantly reduce liver fibrosis, a predictor of outcome in NASH. We are pleased that the combination treatment significantly decreased liver fibrosis as well as NAFLD activity score (NAS) in this preclinical model, and believe it could warrant further clinical evaluation. At this time, we are focused on continuing to advance denifanstat as a potential monotherapy and are on track to report topline results of our FASCINATE-2 Phase 2b clinical trial, including biopsy data, in the first quarter of next year.”
Highlights from the posters include:
Poster [2400-C]: Artificial Intelligence Based Digital Pathology Reveals Fatty Acid Synthase (FASN) Inhibitor Alone or in Combination with Semaglutide Improves Fibrosis in Diet-Induced Obese Mice with Biopsy-Confirmed NASH and Fibrosis
In diet-induced obese mice with biopsy confirmed NASH and fibrosis, a combination treatment of Sagimet’s FASN inhibitor with semaglutide, a GLP-1 analogue, significantly decreased ALT, liver triglycerides and cholesterols. A single treatment of a FASN inhibitor or semaglutide - improved the NAFLD activity score, or NAS, (NAS ≥ 1 point, 47% and 56%, respectively). The combination of a FASN inhibitor and semaglutide showed further improvement of NAS (94%, p20% in NASH mice, alone, or in combination with a FASN inhibitor. The digital AI pathology assessment showed that treatment with a FASN inhibitor alone, or in combination with semaglutide significantly reduced liver fibrosis (p