HANGZHOU, China and SHAOXING, China, Feb. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascletis Pharma Inc. (HKEX: 1672) announces today that Ascletis, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, participates in Sagimet Biosciences Inc.'s US$80 million in crossover financing, led by an undisclosed public equity healthcare investment fund with participation from other existing investors (Kleiner Perkins, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Rock Springs), along with new investors (Altium, HM Capital, Invus and PFM) (Details referring to Sagimet Biosciences' press release: https://www.sagimet.com/press-releases/).
Prior to this crossover financing, Ascletis led a US$25 million Series E financing of Sagimet Biosciences in 2019. In conjunction with leading the Series E financing, Ascletis obtained an exclusive license from Sagimet Biosciences to develop, manufacture and commercialize fatty acid synthase (FASN) inhibitors including ASC40 (TVB-2640) and all related compounds in Greater China for all indications such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and oncology.
"We are excited about participating this crossover financing with leading investors and helping Sagimet Biosciences move forward for NASH and other indications in the United States," said Dr. Jinzi J. Wu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Ascletis. "At the same time, we are advancing a pipeline of FASN inhibitors for NASH, oncology and other indications in China."
George Kemble, PhD, Sagimet Chief Executive Officer, said, "The teams at Sagimet and Ascletis have been working together closely since 2019. We look forward to continued collaboration as we seek to bring to patients new treatment options for NASH and other diseases."
In June, 2020, Sagimet Biosciences announced positive results on its oral, once-daily NASH drug candidate ASC40（TVB-2640）from its Phase 2 (FASCINATE-1) clinical trial. The preliminary data showed that ASC40 (TVB-2640) significantly reduced liver fat, the primary efficacy endpoint of this trial, with a 61% responder rate in the 50 mg group. In July, 2020 Ascletis announced completion of a single-dose, pharmacokinetic bridging study of ASC40 (TVB-2640) in 34 subjects in China and data indicates that key pharmacokinetic parameters (Cmax, AUC, Tmax and t1/2) are consistent between subjects in China and in the United States.
About Ascletis
Ascletis is an innovative R&D driven biotech and listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (1672.HK). Ascletis is committed to developing and commercializing innovative drugs in the areas of viral hepatitis, NASH and HIV/AIDS for unmet medical needs in China and globally. Led by a management team with deep expertise and a proven track record, Ascletis has developed into a fully integrated platform covering the entire value chain from discovery and development to manufacturing and commercialization.
Ascletis has three marketed products and thirteen R&D pipeline drug candidates or combination therapies (nine of them developed in-house). 1. Viral hepatitis: (i) Hepatitis B: focus on breakthrough therapies for HBV clinical cure with subcutaneously injected PD-L1 antibody - ASC22 and Pegasys® as cornerstone drugs. (ii) Hepatitis C: successfully launched all oral regimen of ASCLEVIR® and GANOVO® combination (RDV/DNV regimen); and ASC18 fixed dose combination (FDC) is an upgraded version of RDV/DNV regimen with bridging study finished. 2. NASH: Gannex, a wholly-owned company of Ascletis, is fully dedicated to the R&D and commercialization of new drugs in the field of NASH. Gannex has three clinical stage drug candidates against three different targets – FASN, THR-beta and FXR, and three pre-clinical stage combination therapies. 3. HIV/AIDS: ASC09F is a FDC treatment of HIV targeting protease. The clinical trial application of ASC09F has been approved. For more information, please visit www.ascletis.com.
