These compounds inhibit the secretion of interleukin IL-17 from the stimulated Th17 lymphocytes, by antagonizing the activity of the nuclear receptor ROR?t. These results represent a significant step forward in future development of new drug candidates for the treatment of diseases that express the Th17 component. Indeed, the IL-17 pathway is today recognized as a major pathological player in the etiology of several auto- immune diseases such as Psoriasis, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. In addition, both clinical and preclinical data accumulate to demonstrate that the same Th17 pathway is present and important for development of other inflammatory and cardiometabolic diseases.
Dr. Robert Walczak, the Director of Pharmacology at GENFIT, declared: “The conception of synthetic, orally available small molecule ligands that interfere with the production and with systemic pathological actions of the family of IL-17 cytokines is an important achievement for drug discovery at GENFIT. Major pharmaceutical companies have invested considerable budgets to develop biologic agents that target the IL17-IL17R pathway. Some of these treatments have recently demonstrated exceptional therapeutic properties in patients with psoriasis but clearly this area is in its infancy and sufficient space remains to bring analogous treatments. Our approach to target this important pathogenic pathway with small synthetic molecules will bring more flexibility in terms of possible routes of administration (i.e. oral, topical, inhaled) and also considerably lower costs of manufacturing, which will finally translate into more affordable treatment regimens.”
Jean-François Mouney, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GENFIT, concluded: “We are delighted that our efforts to conceive functional ROR?t ligands have come to fruition. The results obtained with our proprietary molecules acting on this receptor enable us to strengthen our pipeline, and clearly show that an ambitious optimization program can now be undertaken. This field is a particularly hot subject in the strategy of major pharmaceutical companies, as judged from the recent deals. At this stage, we are very pleased with the interest generated by GENFIT’s results and with the discussions that are currently in progress with potential partners.”
About GENFIT:
GENFIT is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the Discovery and Development of drug candidates in therapeutic fields linked to cardiometabolic disorders (prediabetes/diabetes, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, inflammatory diseases…). GENFIT uses a multi-pronged approach based on early diagnosis, preventive solutions, and therapeutic treatments and advances therapeutic research programs, either independently or in partnership with leading pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi, to address these major public health concerns and their unmet medical needs.
Items in this press release may contain forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results could differ substantially from those anticipated in these statements owing to various risk factors which are described in the Company’s prospectus. This press release has been prepared in both French and English languages. In the event of any differences between the two texts, the French language version shall supersede. GENFIT’s research programs have resulted in the creation of a rich and diversified pipeline of drug candidates at different stages of development, including GENFIT’s lead proprietary compound, GFT505, that is currently in Phase IIb.
With facilities in Lille, France, and Cambridge, MA (USA), the Company has approximately 80 employees. GENFIT is a public company listed on the Alternext trading market by Euronext™ Paris (Alternext: ALGFT; ISIN: FR0004163111). www.genfit.com
Contacts:
GENFIT
Jean-François Mouney – CEO & Chairman of the Management Board
Ph. +333 2016 4000
MILESTONES – Press Relations
Bruno Arabian
Ph. +331 7544 8740 / +336 8788 4726 – barabian@milestones.fr
