Terns Pharmaceuticals Announces Exclusive Licensing and Collaboration Agreement with GENFIT to Develop and Commercialize Elafibranor in the Greater China Region

FOSTER CITY, Calif. & SHANGHAI--(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.