Company Description
GENFIT S.A. (GNFT) is described as a late-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with severe chronic liver diseases. According to company information cited in a licensing announcement with Ipsen, GENFIT has a long-standing scientific heritage in liver disease and focuses its research and development on areas where medical needs remain high.
GENFIT is characterized as a pioneer in the field of nuclear receptor-based drug discovery, with a scientific history spanning more than two decades. Over this period, the company has built what it calls a robust and diversified pipeline, using different compounds and technologies evaluated at different stages of development and in different liver diseases. This pipeline approach reflects GENFIT’s emphasis on multiple therapeutic avenues rather than a single asset.
Therapeutic Focus and Pipeline
Information from GENFIT’s partnership communications indicates that the company’s R&D is focused primarily on cholestatic diseases and Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF). These are described as therapeutic areas with significant unmet medical needs, where existing treatment options are limited or insufficient for many patients.
GENFIT highlights elafibranor as its lead therapeutic candidate in liver disease. Elafibranor is described as an oral, once-daily, first-in-class drug candidate that acts via dual agonism of peroxisome proliferator-activated alpha/delta receptors (PPAR α/δ). It is being evaluated in the ELATIVE™ Phase III clinical trial in patients with Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC), a rare, chronic autoimmune liver disease. PBC is associated with progressive destruction of small bile ducts, cholestasis, fibrosis, and potentially cirrhosis, and is recognized as an area of high unmet need.
GENFIT also reports that a Phase I clinical program with nitazoxanide in ACLF has been initiated, reflecting its focus on acute and severe liver conditions. In addition, GENFIT has entered into an out-licensing agreement related to SRT-015, a second-generation, liver-selective inhibitor of Apoptosis Signal-regulating Kinase 1 (ASK1) developed by Seal Rock Therapeutics. Under this agreement, GENFIT is responsible for the development of an injectable formulation of SRT-015 for acute liver disease, including ACLF. This arrangement illustrates GENFIT’s strategy of combining internal assets with in-licensed molecules to expand its liver disease pipeline.
Business Model and Partnerships
Available information shows that GENFIT’s business model includes advancing internal R&D programs and forming strategic collaborations and licensing agreements with other biopharmaceutical companies. For example, GENFIT has granted Ipsen an exclusive worldwide license (with specified territorial exceptions) to develop, manufacture and commercialize elafibranor in PBC. Under this agreement, GENFIT receives an upfront payment, is eligible for regulatory and commercial milestone payments, and is entitled to tiered double-digit royalties up to a stated percentage. Ipsen also acquired an equity stake in GENFIT, becoming one of its larger shareholders.
GENFIT’s collaboration with Ipsen also gives Ipsen access to future clinical programs led by GENFIT and to GENFIT’s research capabilities and proprietary technologies in liver disease. This partnership structure demonstrates how GENFIT seeks to derive value from its scientific platform through both direct development and external partnerships.
In the agreement with Seal Rock Therapeutics, GENFIT is the licensee for the development of an injectable formulation of SRT-015 for ACLF. Seal Rock remains eligible for regulatory, clinical, and commercial milestone payments, plus tiered royalties, while GENFIT gains access to a liver-selective ASK1 inhibitor positioned for severe liver indications. This further underscores GENFIT’s focus on severe liver diseases and its use of licensing to complement its own discovery work.
Clinical Development Activities
GENFIT’s ELATIVE™ Phase III trial evaluates the efficacy and safety of elafibranor in patients with PBC who have an inadequate response or intolerance to ursodeoxycholic acid, the existing first-line therapy. Prior Phase II data, as referenced in GENFIT and Ipsen communications, showed reductions in disease-activity markers such as alkaline phosphatase and composite endpoints involving bilirubin, supporting further development in PBC.
Elafibranor has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Orphan Drug Designation by both the U.S. FDA and the European Medicines Agency for PBC, according to GENFIT’s referenced press releases and regulatory documents. These designations reflect regulatory recognition of the potential of elafibranor in a rare disease setting and the seriousness of PBC.
For ACLF, GENFIT reports that a Phase I program with nitazoxanide has been initiated. The company also emphasizes the potential of SRT-015, citing its liver-centric activity, potential for multi-organ benefits, and breadth of evidence supporting further development in ACLF, as reasons for pursuing an injectable formulation in this indication.
Corporate Structure and Listings
GENFIT S.A. is identified in SEC filings as a foreign private issuer filing under Form 20-F. The company is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and on Euronext Paris (compartment B) under the symbol GNFT. SEC filings indicate that GENFIT uses Form 6-K to furnish current reports and that certain 6-K filings are incorporated by reference into its registration statements on Form F-3 and Form S-8.
Company disclosures note that GENFIT has facilities in Lille and Paris, France, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The principal executive office address is in Loos, France, as reflected in multiple Form 6-K filings, although specific street address details are not necessary for understanding the company’s operations.
Regulatory Reporting
GENFIT regularly furnishes current reports on Form 6-K to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports include press releases and financial documents such as a Half-Year Business and Financial Report for a specified period, as indicated in the exhibit lists of its filings. Some 6-K reports explicitly state that their contents, including attached press releases, are incorporated by reference into GENFIT’s shelf registration and employee share plan registration statements.
This pattern of reporting illustrates GENFIT’s status as a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company that provides ongoing updates on its business, financial position, and clinical developments through both European and U.S. regulatory channels.
Research Orientation
Earlier descriptions of GENFIT, such as those captured in market data sources, portray the company as working on therapeutic and diagnostic solutions in metabolic, inflammatory, autoimmune, and fibrotic diseases affecting the liver and bowel, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and inflammatory bowel disease. These sources also reference a diversified pipeline of drug candidates and a lead proprietary compound, GFT505, in Phase 2b development in NASH at that time. While pipeline priorities evolve, these descriptions highlight GENFIT’s broader historical interest in metabolic and inflammatory diseases related to the liver and digestive system.
Across these materials, GENFIT presents itself as aiming to bring new medicines to patients who lack suitable options, and as seeking approaches that combine novel drugs and biomarkers. Its long-term collaborations, regulatory designations, and multi-asset pipeline collectively define its role in the biopharmaceutical landscape focused on severe liver disease.