Lille (France), Cambridge (Massachusetts, United States), September 28, 2009 – GENFIT (Alternext: ALGFT; ISIN: FR0004163111), a biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of drug discovery and development, focusing on the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, today announces the successful identification of Hit compounds for an orphan nuclear receptor which plays a key role in the regulation of circadian cycle in different organs. These Hits were identified through the screening of chemical libraries performed at GENFIT facilities in Lille.

In humans, many aspects of behavior and physiology are coordinated by an endogenous circadian rhythm (circa diem, meaning approximately one day) that is generated by an internal clock system which synchronizes daily variations in gene expression to rhythms such as sleep and wake alternance, variations in body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, as well as cognition, attention and mood.

A large body of evidence from both human and animal studies now points to a relationship between circadian disorders and altered metabolic response, suggesting that circadian and metabolic regulatory networks are tightly interconnected.

As a consequence, misalignment of the internal timing system versus environmental stimuli, such as day/night cues, as experienced during jetlag or shift work, may result in dysregulation of physiological cycles of fuel utilization and energy storage, and has been associated with increased risk to develop obesity, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. As well, modulating, resetting and stabilization of central circadian rhythms have been proposed as therapeutic strategies for certain CNS disorders.

“This is an important milestone in our drug discovery programs in the field of cardiometabolic disease and CNS disorders”, says Dean Hum (CSO of Genfit). “Deorphanisation of this nuclear receptor further demonstrates our expertise in this class of therapeutic targets, and provides novel series of compounds to address the focus therapeutic areas of Genfit with a very innovative approach via modulation of clock genes and the circadian rhythm”.

About GENFIT:

GENFIT is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the Discovery and Development of drug candidates in strategic therapeutic fields linked to cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative disorders (prediabetes/diabetes, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, obesity, Alzheimer’s…). GENFIT uses a multi-pronged approach based on early diagnosis, preventive solutions, and therapeutic treatments to address these major public health concerns and their unmet medical needs. GENFIT’s proprietary research programs and its partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi-Aventis, Solvay Group, Pierre Fabre, and Servier, have resulted in the creation of a rich and diversified pipeline of drug candidates at different stages of development. GENFIT’s lead proprietary compound, GFT505, is currently in Phase II and two other compounds, in partnership with Sanofi-Aventis (AVE0897) and SOLVAY (SLV341), are in the advanced stages of Phase I.

With facilities in Lille, France, and Cambridge, MA (USA), the Company has about 130 employees, including over 100 scientists. GENFIT is a public company listed on the Alternext trading market by Euronext(TM) Paris (Alternext: ALGFT; ISIN: FR0004163111). www.genfit.com

Contacts:

GENFIT
Jean-Fran̤ois Mouney РChairman of the Management Board
+33 (0)3 20 16 40 00

Milestones – Press Relations
Bruno Arabian
+33 (0)1 75 44 87 40 / +33 (0)6 87 88 47 26 – barabian@milestones.fr

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The appendixes relating to the press release are available on:

http://www.hugingroup.com/documents_ir/PJ/CO/2009/158601_88_7960_20090928-PR-GENFIT.pdf

This announcement is originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Source: euronext.com