WHO accepts Elafibranor as generic name for GENFIT’s GFT505 drug candidate

Elafibranor is unique and represents a new pharmacological class (first-in-class)

GENFIT (Euronext: GNFT; ISIN: FR0004163111), a biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of developing therapeutic and diagnostic solutions in metabolic and inflammatory diseases, that notably affect the liver or the gastrointestinal system, today announces that the World Health Organization (WHO) has accepted the international non-proprietary name (INN, or generic name) Elafibranor for its leading drug candidate previously referred to as GFT505.

The aim of the INN system is to provide health professionals with a unique and universal designated name for each pharmaceutical substance. This is important for the clear identification, safe prescription and dispensing of medicines to patients. In the INN system, the names of pharmacologically-related substances have a common "stem", enabling health professionals to recognize substances having similar pharmacological activity.

The new non-proprietary name, Elafibranor, reflects the first-in-class nature of the drug candidate, since it does not contain a pre-existing INN stem. The novel pre-stem "-fibranor" may thus become an established stem over time, as other later developed drugs are recognized to be related in structure or activity.

Jean-François MOUNEY, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of GENFIT, declared:

We are very pleased that the INN division of WHO recognized the unique nature of Elafibranor/GFT505 by accepting the proposed generic name for our leading drug candidate. Moreover, their acceptance of the novel pre-stem "-fibranor" reflects the innovative nature of the drug candidate, and marks a new step in our overall development strategy in the run-up to the market launch of this first-in-class product.

Source: http://www.genfit.com/