Phase 3 Study of Denifanstat in Participants With Moderate to Severe Acne (AURORA)

November 3, 2026 updated by: Sagimet Biosciences Inc.

A Phase 3 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter, Parallel-Design Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Denifanstat in Participants With Moderate to Severe Acne Vulgaris

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of denifanstat compared with matching placebo in participants with moderate to severe acne vulgaris who are ≥12 years of age. After the 12-week treatment phase, a subset of approximately 530 participants will have the option to consent to an open-label extension phase for an additional 40 weeks of treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
800

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Arkansas
      • Bryant, Arkansas, United States, 72022
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • California
      • Beverly Hills, California, United States, 90211
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • Fremont, California, United States, 94538
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • San Diego, California, United States, 92123
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • Santa Ana, California, United States, 92705
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • Florida
      • Doral, Florida, United States, 33126
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, 33308
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • Miami, Florida, United States, 33125
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • Miami, Florida, United States, 33126
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • Miami, Florida, United States, 33175
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • Miramar, Florida, United States, 33027
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • Sweetwater, Florida, United States, 33182
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • Illinois
      • Lincolnshire, Illinois, United States, 60069
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • Indiana
      • Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46250
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • New Albany, Indiana, United States, 47150
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • Michigan
      • Clinton Township, Michigan, United States, 48038
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • Nebraska
      • Omaha, Nebraska, United States, 68144
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • New Hampshire
      • Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States, 03801
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • New Jersey
      • Robbinsville, New Jersey, United States, 08691
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • North Carolina
      • Wilmington, North Carolina, United States, 28045
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • Ohio
      • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43215
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • Rhode Island
      • East Greenwich, Rhode Island, United States, 02818
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • South Carolina
      • Greenville, South Carolina, United States, 29615
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • Tennessee
      • Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States, 37130
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37215
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • Texas
      • College Station, Texas, United States, 77845
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
      • El Paso, Texas, United States, 79902
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site
    • Washington
      • Spokane, Washington, United States, 99202
        • Recruiting
        • Sagimet Investigative Site

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

12 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Must be willing and able to participate in the trial and provide written informed consent or assent

  2. Aged ≥12 years on the date that written informed consent/ assent is provided

  3. Moderate to severe acne vulgaris based on the following criteria at screening:

    1. The EGSS at screening of 3 or 4.

      AND

    2. Number of facial skin lesions:

      • 30 to 75 inflammatory lesions
      • 30 to 100 noninflammatory lesions

  4. All participants with their partners, if any, must agree to the use of an acceptable method of highly effective contraception. Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) must not be pregnant or breastfeeding, must not plan to become pregnant during the study, and must use 2 forms of birth control, one being a barrier method, or be sexually abstinent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Presence of >2 facial cysts/ nodules

  2. Cystic acne, acne fulminans or acne conglobata

  3. Other significant skin diseases that may affect the efficacy evaluation or require co-treatment

  4. History of clinically significant dry eye, such as Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) ≥33, or corneal staining ≥ grade III on Oxford Grading Scale, chronic dry eye, or other corneal abnormality

  5. Use of concomitant strong cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 inducers and strong or moderate inhibitors within 2 weeks prior to Day 1 the trial except Paxlovid®

  6. Use of a glucagon-like-peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist for <12 weeks prior to first dose of trial medication

  7. Use of any of the following:

    1. Introduction of any drug known to prolong QT interval corrected for heart rate (QTC)
    2. Sensitive substrates of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and breast cancer resistant protein (BCRP)
    3. Herbs and supplements such as St John's Wort or grapefruit juice.

  8. Use of concomitant acne treatments unless appropriate washout period is documented

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Other: Placebo

Oral, once daily
Experimental: Denifanstat
Drug: Denifanstat

Oral, once daily

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Proportion of participants achieving EGSS success, defined as a score of 0 (clear) or 1 (almost clear) with at least a 2-point decrease from their baseline score
Time Frame: Week 12
Week 12
Absolute change from baseline in inflammatory lesion count (ILC)
Time Frame: Week 12
Week 12
Absolute change from baseline in non-inflammatory lesion count (ILC)
Time Frame: Week 12
Week 12

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Safety and tolerability (Open-Label Extension)
Time Frame: Week 52

Incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events and serious adverse events; change from baseline in safety parameters
Week 52

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Sagimet Biosciences Inc.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 2, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 7, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 3, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • SB2640-CLIN-017

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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