FOSTER CITY, Calif. & SHANGHAI, June 25 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) —Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with GENFIT (GNFT), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative therapeutic and diagnostic solutions in metabolic and liver-related diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Terns acquires the exclusive right to develop, register, and market elafibranor for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) in Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). GENFIT will receive a $35 million upfront payment and will be eligible to receive up to $193 million in subsequent payments, based on achieving clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones. The two companies will also collaborate on research and development moving forward in NASH and PBC. These research and development efforts include potential combinations of elafibranor, a dual peroxisome proliferator-activated alpha/delta (PPAR α/δ ) agonist, with Terns’ development candidates, including TERN-101, a farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist, TERN-201, a semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) inhibitor, and their thyroid hormone receptor (THR) β-selective agonist and apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) inhibitor programs.
“Terns is committed to bringing new, innovative therapies for the treatment of liver disease to China and other global markets. Our partnership with GENFIT is a natural next step for us as a company,” said Weidong Zhong, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Terns. “We believe combination therapy will rapidly become the standard of care for NASH treatment, and our strategy is based on this conviction. Elafibranor is a late-stage compound with a mechanism of action synergistic with those in our own pipeline, making it a perfect fit for our strategy to advance combination therapies for chronic liver disease. We’re excited to add elafibranor to our portfolio, to expand our focus on liver disease to include PBC, and to gain a strong partner in GENFIT, a company that shares our focus on developing innovative treatments for liver disease.”
