Sagimet Biosciences has announced positive results from the trial of its license partner Ascletis Pharma’s denifanstat in moderate to severe acne.

The phase 3 ASC40-304 trial evaluated the safety profile of denifanstat in patients with moderate to severe acne. These patients had previously been enrolled in the phase 3 ASC40-303 trial. ASC40-304 found that denifanstat was generally well tolerated by patients.

The trial also found that patients receiving denifanstat demonstrated improvements in all secondary endpoints, beyond those improvements noted at 12 weeks of study. These endpoints included the number of subjects whose Investigator’s Global Assessment score decreased by at least two points and the percentage reduction in total skin lesion count.

More than 50 million people across the US live with acne, with 5.1 million annually seeking dermatology treatment for the condition. There is no cure for acne, and chronic treatment is often required to control the condition.

Topical therapies have shown lower adherence than oral therapies, with around 30-40% of patients not adhering to topical treatment. This highlights the unmet medical need for oral therapies such as denifanstat.

UCB has released new positive data for Bimzelx (bimekizumab) to treat moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS).

The BE HEARD trial found that Bimzelx showed complete resolution of inflammatory lesions in patients with moderate to severe HS, as well as significant improvements in the severity of their disease. These results were sustained after three years of study.

Analysis found that, after three years, the proportion of patients who had severe HS fell markedly from 87.4% to 14.7%.

There was also a marked improvement of 59% in the number of patients reporting only mild or inactive HS after three years. It was also found that patients’ quality of life improved.

Data from the BE HEARD programme will be presented at the 15th Conference of the European Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (EHSF).

HS is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that develops in early adulthood and affects around 1% of the population in the majority of studied countries. It is characterised by nodules, abscesses and pus-discharging draining tunnels. These often appear in areas including the armpits, groin and buttocks, leading to severe and often debilitating pain.

The Skin Health Alliance (SHA) has donated £140,000 to the British Skin Foundation (BSF) for research into skin health.

This marks the Alliance’s 13th annual donation to the BSF, with a total of more than £2.1m having been donated so far. Working together since 2023, the SHA and BSF have also awarded a portion of this funding as research grants for skin health.

This year, £92,000 will be donated to fund a two-year research project focusing on skin diseases and skin cancers that affect kidney transplant patients. This funding was decided upon after SHA founder Matthew Patey received a kidney transplant in 2025.

As a result of immunosuppressive medication, patients who have a kidney transplant have a greater risk of developing both skin diseases and skin cancer. The medication minimises the risk of the body rejecting the new kidney by lowering the immune system.

This affects the skin’s ability to identify and fight abnormal cells, and it also weakens the immune system’s ability to repair skin damage caused by ultraviolet light, which can result in skin cancer.