Sagimet partner Ascletis announces significant Phase III acne data

4 June 2025

US clinical-stage biotech Sagimet Biosciences (Nasdaq: SGMT) today reported denifanstat met all primary and secondary endpoints in a Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of moderate to severe acne vulgaris conducted by Sagimet’s license partner Ascletis Bioscience in China.

The news sent Sagimet’s shares soaring 18.7% to $4.31 in pre-market trading.

Denifanstat is a once-daily oral small molecule fatty acid synthase (FASN) inhibitor being developed by Ascletis under license from Sagimet, as ASC40 for acne in China and by Sagimet for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in the rest of world. Additionally, Sagimet recently initiated a Phase I first-in-human clinical trial with a second FASN inhibitor, TVB-3567, that is planned to be developed for acne in the US.

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