Gencia, LLC Will Present Preclinical Results in the DIAMOND Mice Supporting the Therapeutic Potential of Its Lead Mitochondrial Therapeutic, GEN-3026, to Treat NASH at the International Liver Congress™, Paris, France, April 11-15 2018

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Gencia, LLC will present preclinical results for GEN-3026 in a poster session at The International Liver Congress^TM 2018, European Association for the Study of Liver (EASL) being held in Paris, France, April 11-15, 2018.

GEN-3026 is a first-in-class, oral, once-daily, liver-directed, mitochondrial uncoupler compound that is in preclinical development as a treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other metabolic disease.

Key findings from the GEN-3026 study in the DIAMOND™ mice include:

GEN-3026 treatment significantly reduced body and liver weight, serum cholesterol, and blood enzymes that indicate liver damage (AST, ALT, and ALP). Histological parameters of NASH including steatosis percentage and grade, hepatocyte ballooning, and lobular inflammation were significantly improved in mice treated with GEN-3026. Most strikingly, while all untreated mice progressed to NASH, GEN-3026 prevented progression to NASH in 89 percent of the mice.

Dr. Arun J. Sanyal, worldwide expert on NASH and Chief Medical Officer of Sanyal Biotechnology, stated, "GEN-3026 improved multiple aspects of the metabolic syndrome that drive NASH development, improved multiple measures of liver health, and successfully prevented the development of NASH in the majority of the treated mice. We look forward to carrying out additional studies on this highly promising compound."

Until recently, there has been no preclinical model of naturally developing fatty liver, fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma that is produced solely by feeding a Westernized, high-fat and high-sugar diet. Dr. Sanyal and Sanyal Biotechnology have created the DIAMOND™ mice (Diet Induced Animal Model Of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease), which mirror all aspects of human NASH development and pathology and provide a superior construct validity in predicting clinical responses to NASH treatments.

"The DIAMOND™ mice represent the premiere translational model for development of a NASH therapeutic," said Allen Cunningham, Gencia's CEO. "The scientific expertise, professionalism, and execution of the team at Sanyal Biotechnology have been instrumental in the development of the GEN-3026 program."

The data will be made public in abstract #1077 and poster #479, which will be exhibited at EASL on Friday, April 13, 2018. Representatives from Gencia and Sanyal Biotechnology will be available to answer questions during the poster session.

About Gencia, LLC

Gencia, LLC is a discovery biotechnology company based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Gencia is focused on the development of mitochondrial therapeutics across a broad spectrum of disease, including metabolic disease, inflammation, cancer and neurodegeneration.

About Sanyal Biotechnology LLC

Sanyal Biotechnology LLC is a contract research organization that was spun out of Virginia Commonwealth University in 2015 in order to meet demand for the DIAMOND™ mice developed by Dr. Arun Sanyal. The company is focused on screening compounds for efficacy in NAFLD, NASH, HCC, and associated conditions. It holds an exclusive worldwide license on the DIAMOND™ mice and is headquartered in an AAALAC-compliant facility in Norfolk, Virginia.

Media Contact: 
Jana Campbell
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SOURCE Gencia, LLC