By Katherine Hamilton

Sagimet Biosciences shares rose after the company said it would focus on advancing development of its acne treatment in the U.S.

The stock climbed 29% to $7.55 in premarket trading Monday. Through Friday's close, the stock had ticked down 1% this year.

The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company said it plans to start a U.S. Phase 3 trial of denifanstat, a treatment for moderate to severe acne, in the second half of this year.

The decision builds on a successful Phase 3 trial in China, Chief Executive David Happel said Monday.

The decision marks a broader strategic shift to prioritize Sagimet's dermatology business while pursuing nondilutive funding options for its program in the liver disease MASH, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, Chief Financial Officer Thierry Chauche said.

Sagimet had also been developing a combination of denifanstat and resmetirom to treat MASH. The company reported the completion of a Phase 1 trial in December 2025, and expects the combination treatment to be ready for a Phase 2 trial in the second half of this year.

Sagimet said it won't undertake further clinical development in MASH treatments, however, until it gets more nondilutive financing.

In January, Sagimet's license partner Ascletis Bioscience reported positive top-line results in the open-label Phase 3 trial in China evaluating the long-term safety of 50-milligram, once-daily denifanstat dosing in patients with severe and moderate acne, Sagimet said.

Patients in the trial tolerated the treatment well and showed improvements in all efficacy endpoints measured at 52 weeks, the company said.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2026 08:02 ET (12:02 GMT)

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