Genome & Company to present GENC-116 fibrosis data at ASN 2026
In short
Genome & Company said it will present the latest preclinical data for its anti-fibrosis candidate GENC-116 at the American Society of Nephrology’s ASN 2026 meeting in Denver from Oct. 22 to 25. The candidate, discovered through the company’s GNOCLE platform, targets the protein NUAK1 and is being developed for cancer and fibrosis. A company research head said the disclosure would show its potential in kidney disease.
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Genome & Company said it will present the latest preclinical data for its fibrosis treatment candidate GENC-116 at the American Society of Nephrology’s ASN 2026 conference, to be held in Denver from Oct. 22 to 25, according to the Seoul Economic Daily. The company said it will use the meeting to set out the candidate’s therapeutic potential in kidney disease. [ 1 ]
According to the Seoul Economic Daily, GENC-116 is a new low-molecular-weight compound discovered through the company’s drug development platform GNOCLE. It targets NUAK1, a protein expressed in various cancer tissues, and is being developed as an anti-cancer and anti-fibrosis treatment. The company said the candidate showed strong efficacy as a monotherapy in fibrosis, where it said unmet medical need is high, and that the project was selected as a research task by the Korea Drug Development Fund. [ 1 ]
Cha Mi-young, head of the company’s drug research institute, said the data disclosure would show the candidate’s potential in fibrosis, including kidney disease, as a targeted therapy spanning cancer and fibrosis, and that the company would accelerate research and development to secure key data. ASN 2026, which the outlet described as the world’s largest nephrology conference, is to be held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. [ 1 ]
Other Korean business outlets headlined the same announcement. The Korea Economic Daily framed it as the company taking aim at kidney disease with the anti-fibrosis drug GENC-116, and Newsis reported that the company would disclose fibrosis-treatment data in the US. Neither provided additional detail on the data itself. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The disclosure is a preclinical update, so it does not establish a clinical benefit for patients. It indicates that the company is moving a pipeline forward that it says can be extended across fibrosis-related diseases, which its research head described as a field with high unmet need. Outside Korea it is likely to be read mainly as one item in the biotech partnering calendar around the ASN meeting.
Key facts
- Genome & Company said on Oct. 6 that it will present new preclinical data for GENC-116 at ASN 2026, held in Denver from Oct. 22 to 25. [ 1 ]
- GENC-116 is a low-molecular-weight compound discovered through the company’s GNOCLE platform and targets the protein NUAK1. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The company is developing the candidate as both an anti-cancer and anti-fibrosis treatment. [ 1 ]
- Genome & Company said GENC-116 showed strong efficacy as a monotherapy in fibrosis and was selected as a research project by the Korea Drug Development Fund. [ 1 ]
- Cha Mi-young, head of the company’s drug research institute, said the data disclosure would show the candidate’s potential in fibrosis, including kidney disease. [ 1 ]
- Korea Economic Daily headlined the same disclosure as a move to target kidney disease. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The conference dates of Oct. 22 to 25 and the Denver venue are given by one outlet only. Single-source detail; no second outlet states the schedule or location.
- The contents of the preclinical data, such as specific results or figures, were not disclosed in the documents. The company said it will present the data but did not describe the findings.