LYON, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- POXEL SA (Euronext – POXEL - FR0012432516), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative treatments for type 2 diabetes, today announced that it will join organizations worldwide to recognize World Diabetes Day (WDD) 2016, an annual event that seeks to highlight the growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes.

“Poxel is pleased to unite with the international diabetes community to support World Diabetes Day and to increase awareness of this worldwide pandemic,” said Thomas Kuhn, CEO of Poxel. “We are committed to developing our two clinical candidates, Imeglimin and PXL770, for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and are making meaningful progress. Through mid-2017, we expect to deliver Imeglimin Phase 2b results from our 300-patient Japanese study and plan to publish and present further data demonstrating Imeglimin’s potential for glucose lowering benefits and beta cell protection, as well as cardiovascular-related benefits. Our goal is to provide patients with new differentiated treatment options to help manage their disease.”

“Type 2 diabetes is a fast-growing complex disease and new innovation is needed,” said Harold E. Lebovitz, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism/Diabetes at State University of NY, Health Sciences Center, Brooklyn, and a member of Poxel’s Scientific Advisory Board. “I believe that Imeglimin, with its novel mechanism of action and ability to target both insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity, combined with the potential for additional benefits, such as cardiovascular and the ability to slow disease progression with beta cell protection, has the opportunity to become an important new treatment option for patients with type 2 diabetes.”

World Diabetes Day is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign with events organized in more than 100 countries. Led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), WDD unites the global diabetes community to produce a powerful voice for diabetes awareness and advocacy. WDD is a year-long campaign to reflect the realities of dealing with a chronic condition. This year's theme, “Eye on Diabetes,” will focus on activities promoting the importance of screening to ensure early diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and treatment to reduce the risk of serious complications.

According to the IDF Diabetes Atlas 7^th Edition:

• Diabetes is a huge and growing burden: 415 million adults were living with diabetes in 2015 and this number is expected to increase to around 642 million or one in ten adults by 2040.
• One in two adults with diabetes is undiagnosed.
• Many people live with type 2 diabetes for a long period of time without being aware of their condition. By the time of diagnosis, diabetes complications may already be present.
• Up to 70% of type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or delayed by adopting healthier lifestyles, equivalent to up to 160 million cases by 2040.
• With increasing levels of poor nutrition and physical inactivity among children in many countries, type 2 diabetes in childhood has the potential to become a global public health issue leading to serious health outcomes.
• 12% of total global expenditure on health is currently spent on adults with diabetes.
• The number of people with diabetes in low- and middle-income countries will continue to grow, posing a threat to sustainable development. For example, by 2040, the number of people with diabetes in Africa is expected to double.

About Imeglimin

Imeglimin is the first in a new chemical class of oral anti-diabetic agents, the Glimins. Imeglimin acts on the three main target organs involved in glucose homeostasis: the liver, muscle, and the pancreas. Imeglimin has a unique mechanism of action that targets mitochondrial bioenergetics. This has the potential for glucose lowering benefits, as well as the potential to prevent endothelial dysfunction, which can provide protective effects on micro- and macro-vascular defects induced by diabetes, and benefits on beta cell protection and function, which can delay disease progression. This distinct mode of action compared to existing treatments for type 2 diabetes makes Imeglimin a prime candidate in monotherapy and to complement other treatments such as metformin or sitagliptin.

Imeglimin has completed Phase 2 development in over 850 subjects in the US and EU and is currently being studied in a 300-patient Phase 2b clinical trial in Japan.

About Poxel SA

Poxel uses its development expertise in metabolism to advance a pipeline of drug candidates focused on the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We have successfully completed our Phase 2 clinical program for our first-in-class lead product, Imeglimin, which targets mitochondrial dysfunction, in the U.S. and EU and have fully enrolled a Phase 2b clinical study in Japan. Our second program, PXL770, a direct AMPK activator, is in Phase 1 development. We intend to generate further growth through strategic partnerships and pipeline development. Euronext: POXEL, www.poxel.com)

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Poxel SA
Jonae R. Barnes, +1 617-818-2985
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Public Relations
jonae.barnes@poxelpharma.com
or
Investor relations / Media - EU/US
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
Gretchen Schweitzer or Stephanie May, + 49 89 2424 3494 or + 49 175 571 1562
smay@macbiocom.com
or
Investor relations / Media - France
NewCap
Florent Alba/Nicolas Mérigeau, + 33 1 44 71 98 55
poxel@newcap.fr

Source: Poxel SA

Released November 14, 2016