Seal Rock Therapeutics Announces Out-Licensing Agreement with GENFIT for Development of Injectable Formulation of SRT-015 for Acute-on-Chronic Liver Disease (ACLF)

Seal Rock eligible to receive payments up to €100 million, including regulatory, clinical, and commercial milestone payments, plus tiered royalties

SEATTLE, May 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Seal Rock Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage company developing first-in-class and best-in-class kinase inhibitors, today announced it has entered into an out-licensing agreement with GENFIT (Nasdaq and Euronext: GNFT) for the development of an injectable formulation of SRT-015 for acute liver disease, including Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF).

Under the agreement, Seal Rock Therapeutics is eligible for payments up to €100 million, including regulatory, clinical, and commercial milestone payments, plus tiered royalties.

SRT-015, a highly optimized, second generation, liver-selective inhibitor of Apoptosis Signal-reducing Kinase 1 (ASK1). It is being developed by Seal Rock Therapeutics, in an oral formulation, as a treatment for severe acute alcoholic hepatitis as well as orphan liver diseases and NASH.

"We're excited to announce this licensing deal with GENFIT that will accelerate the development of an injectable formulation of our second-generation ASK1 inhibitor SRT-015 for ACLF, a liver disease with high unmet need," said Neil McDonnell, CEO of Seal Rock Therapeutics. "At Seal Rock, we remain focused on initiating a Phase 2a trial of oral SRT-015 for severe alcoholic hepatitis. We will also continue development of our first-in-class LRRK2/ASK1 dual kinase inhibitors for Parkinson's Disease and ALS."

"Considering its liver-centric activity, the potential for multi-organ benefits and the breadth of evidence supporting further development in ACLF, we strongly believe in the potential of SRT-015," said Pascal Prigent, CEO of GENFIT. "We are pleased to have this opportunity to develop a new, injectable formulation of SRT-015 for Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF)."

About SRT-015

SRT-015 is a second-generation inhibitor of ASK1 developed internally by Seal Rock Therapeutics. Optimized to overcome the liabilities of first-generation ASK1 inhibitors such as selonsertib, and with a liver-preferential distribution, SRT-015 is positioned as a first-in-class product candidate for NASH and AH.

About Seal Rock Therapeutics

Seal Rock Therapeutics is a privately held, clinical stage company based in Seattle focused on developing first-in-class and best-in-class treatments for severe diseases with limited or no available therapies. Seal Rock is led by an experienced management team with a track record of successful drug discovery, development and commercialization. The company's clinical-stage lead product candidate, SRT-015, is a highly optimized, first-in-class ASK1 inhibitor.  Seal Rock is also developing preclinical-stage brain-penetrant ASK1/LRRK2 dual kinase inhibitors for treatment of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease and ALS.

For more information, please visit www.sealrocktx.com

Media Contact:

Julie Rathbun
Rathbun Communications
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SOURCE Seal Rock Therapeutics